Of course, there is no sound in space, but sonfication is a process where any kind of non-auditory data is translated as sound. “We’re transforming space data into the sonic realm such that we can gain a new perspective, and begin to ask new questions,” said Robert Alexander, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, getting his Ph.D in Design Science, who created this great sonification video of the recent solar storm activity. Alexander used data from two spacecraft: SOHO, studying the Sun, and the MESSENGER spacecraft at Mercury, which has the University of Michigan’s Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) on board, an imaging mass spectrometer.
Mercury was recently bombarded with a solar storm, and the sound created from particles colliding with the FIPS is utterly horrifying, sounding like the worst monster you could ever imagine. Continue reading “What Does a Solar Storm Sound Like?”
SOHO animation of the latest sun-diving comet (LASCO/NRL SOHO team)
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A new comet has been discovered by the SOHO team, and it — like Lovejoy before it, almost three months to the day — is headed directly toward the Sun. Discovered by SOHO’s SWAN instrument, the comet has been dubbed Comet SWAN… making this a real swan dive (or, perhaps more appropriately, its swan song.)
The animation above has a lot of random noise in it from recent solar outbursts… can you spot the comet? If not, read on…
Labeled frame of the LASCO image (courtesy of SpaceWeather.com)
There’s Comet SWAN, just above the darker silhouette of the bar that holds the shielding disk over the center of the imager (which blocks the glare from the Sun itself.)
The comet is likely another member of the Kreutz family of comets, an extended family of pieces that broke off a larger comet several hundred years ago (which itself may have been a survivor of a breakup in 371 B.C.!) Comet Lovejoy was also a Kretuz sungrazer but it was considerably larger and brighter, which may have helped it survive its Dec. 15 solar close encounter to re-emerge on the opposite side, surprising astronomers everywhere!
Comet Lovejoy re-emerging from behind the Sun on Dec. 15, 2011. (NASA/SDO)
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It was just about three months ago that the astronomy world watched in awe as the recently-discovered comet Lovejoy plummeted toward the Sun on what was expected to be its final voyage, only to reappear on the other side seemingly unscathed! Surviving its solar visit, Lovejoy headed back out into the solar system, displaying a brand-new tail for skywatchers in southern parts of the world (and for a few select viewers above the world as well.)
How did a loosely-packed ball of ice and rock manage to withstand such a close pass through the Sun’s blazing corona, when all expectations were that it would disintegrate and fizzle away? A few researchers from Germany have an idea.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and the Braunschweig University of Technology have hypothesized that Comet Lovejoy managed to hold itself together through the very process that, to most people, defines a comet: the outgassing of sublimated icy material.
As a comet near the Sun, the increased heating from solar radiation causes the frozen materials within the nucleus to sublimate — go directly and suddenly from solid to gas, skipping the liquid middle stage — and, in doing so, burst through the surface of the comet and create the long, hazy reflective tail that is so often associated with them.
Overview of the forces acting on sungrazing comets. (Illustration from paper.)
In the case of Lovejoy, which was on a direct path toward the Sun, the sublimation itself may have provided enough outward force across its surface to literally keep it together, according to the team’s research.
“The reaction force caused by the strong outgassing (sublimation) of the nucleus near the Sun acts to keep the nucleus together and to overcome the tidal disruption,” the paper claims.
In addition, the team states that the size of the comet’s nucleus can be derived using an equation that takes into consideration the combined forces of outgassing, the material composition of the comet’s nucleus, the comet’s own gravity and the tidal forces exerted by the comet’s close proximity to the Sun (i.e., the Roche limit).
Using that equation, the team concluded that the diameter of Comet Lovejoy’s nucleus is anywhere between 0.2 km and 11 km (.125 miles and 6.8 miles). Any smaller and it would have lost too much material during its pass (and had too little gravity); any larger and it would have been too thick for outgassing to provide enough counterbalancing force.
If this hypothesis is correct, taking a trip around the Sun may not mean the end for all comets… at least not those of a certain size!
Watch the video of Lovejoy’s Dec. 15 solar swing below:
The paper was submitted to the journal Icarus on March 8, 2012 by Bastian Gundlach. See the full text here.
The enormous sunspot region responsible for all the recent fuss and flares was easily visible from Earth yesterday… easily visible, that is, with the help of a natural filter provided by a New Mexico dust storm!
Photographer David Tremblay captured this image on March 7 through the dust-laden sky of Alto, New Mexico. Active Region 1429 can be seen on the upper right side of the Sun’s disk. Many times the size of Earth, this sunspot region has already erupted with several X-class solar flares and sent numerous CMEs our way — with potential for more to come!
“Blowing dust from the Tularosa Basin is so very dense that observing the sun was possible with the naked eye this evening,” noted David on SpaceWeather.com, where you can see more of his solar photos taken about the same time.
The image above was captured at 560mm with a Canon MKlll ESO1D.
Here’s a close look at the large X5.4 solar flare that erupted on the Sun on March 7, 2012 at 00:28 UT, (7:28 PM EST on March 6). These high-definition views from the Solar Dynamics Observatory also show the subsequent solar tsunami that rippled across the Sun, appearing as though the Sun ‘shook’ from the force of the flare.
This storm is heading our way and will likely give Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere a little shake as well, but solar physicists aren’t sure yet what the full impact will be. NASA Goddard’s Space Weather Lab and NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center say surely there will be aurorae from this blast. Other potential impacts include some radio blackouts, single-event upsets to satellite operations, and airplane passengers in high latitude, high altitude flights may experience increased radiation exposures. Continue reading “A Close-up Look at the Massive Solar Storm that Shook the Sun”
Active Region 1429 unleashed an X5.4-class solar flare early this morning at 00:28 UT, as seen in this image by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (AIA 304). The eruption belched out a large coronal mass ejection (CME) into space but it’s not yet known exactly how it will impact Earth — it may just be a glancing blow.
Solar flares are categorized by a scale according to their x-ray brightness. X is the strongest class, followed by M and then C-class. Within each class the numbers 1 through 9 subdivide the flares’ intensity.
A run-in with an X5-class flare is a major geomagnetic event that can cause radio blackouts on Earth and disrupt satellite operations, as well as intensify auroral activity.
The GOES satellite data for the March 7 flare is below:
The CME is expected to impact Earth sometime on the 8th or 9th. Check back here or at Spaceweather.com for updates on the storm (and any subsequent aurora photos!)
Also, check out the video below, assembled by the SDO team. Just after the X5.4-class flare another smaller X1-class flare occurred, sending a visible wave cross the Sun.
Image courtesy NASA, SDO and the AIA science team. And thanks to Camilla Corona SDO for all the updates!
The Sun has been quiet recently but early today (04:13 UTC on March 5, 2012) it unleashed a powerful X1-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection. The latest estimates indicate the CME will probably miss Earth, but hit Mercury and Venus. Even so, the science team from the Solar Dynamics Observatory says that high-latitude skywatchers should still be alert for auroras in the nights ahead. There was also an M2-class eruption from the same big and active sunspot, Active Region 1429, on March 4th which produced another, wider CME that might yet intersect Earth. The cloud is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on March 6th at 04:30 UT (+/- 7 hrs).
The science team from the Solar Dynamics Observatory invites you to put on your 3D glasses and enjoy our active Sun in high definition 3-d, fading from white light into extreme ultraviolet.
SDO AIA image of the Sun and Moon at 14:11 UT on Feb. 21, 2012
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The Sun seems to be glowing in traditional Mardi Gras colors in this image, made from three AIA channels taken today at approximately 14:11 UT (about 9:11 a.m. EST) as the Moon passed between it and the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. Looks like it’s that time of year again!
During portions of the year, the Moon transits the Sun on a regular basis from the perspective of NASA’s SDO spacecraft, which lies within the Moon’s orbit. When this happens we are treated to an improvised eclipse… and it gives SDO engineers a way to fine-tune the observatory’s calibration as well.
Here are more AIA views of the same event captured in different wavelengths:
Lunar transit on 2-21-12; AIA 304Lunar transit on 2-21-12; AIA 193Lunar transit on 2-21-12; AIA 4500
…and here’s an interesting image taken in HMI Dopplergram:
HMI Dopplergram image of transit
While the AIA (Atmospheric Imaging Assembly) images the Sun in light sensitive to different layers of its atmosphere, the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) studies oscillations in the Sun’s magnetic field at the surface layer.
And if you happen to be reading this as of the time of this writing (appx. 10:06 a.m. EST) you can keep up with the latest images coming in on the SDO site at http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
It’s Mardi Gras and the Moon doesn’t want to miss out on any of the fun!
Images courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Hat-tip to Mr. Stu Atkinson who called the AIA alert on Twitter.
Normally plasma from the Sun either shoots off into space or loops back on the Sun’s surface. But the Solar Dynamics Observatory captured some plasma that couldn’t make up its mind. Here, darker, cooler plasma slid and shifted back and forth above the Sun’s surface for 30 hours on February 7-8, 2012. The view is shown in extreme ultraviolet light. As a backdrop, an active region just rotating into view shows bright plasma gyrating into streams — normally how the plasma behaves. SDO scientists say the darker particles are being pulled back and forth by competing magnetic forces, tracking along strands of magnetic field lines.
And by the way, tomorrow is SDO’s 2nd anniversary! It launched two years ago on February 11, 2010. Happy anniversary, SDO and thanks for all the great videos and data so far! We wish you many more!
