Tag Archives: solar system

Here comes the Sun

Posted on by June 17, 2014

Aug 2013

NASA/SDO Image

Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams

Something big is about to happen on the Sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip.

“It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.”

After reading this I looked through the window at a cloudy winter sky. In 3 – 4 months the smiles are supposed to be returning to our faces here in the Southern Hemisphere just like the Beatles promised. Now it seems we are in for some stormy space weather.

How much will this event effect us here on Earth this time?

Every eleven years (give or take a year or two) the Sun goes through a sunspot cycle which is linked to magnetic forces. Now what have magnetic forces got to do with pole reversals?

Reading up on the Parker Solar Dynamo Theory, only to learn that the theory was flawed, I proceeded to the Babcock-Leighton Model until I hit the sentence: Unfortunately it could not offer a prediction…..

OK so now I’ve wasted some time but not to be deterred I googled until I found written in bold: And the answer is….

ah ha!
Two separate processes seem to be going on: The Local Dynamo and the Global Dynamo. Before attaching major significance to a whole lot of really weird terms like the Tachocline and helioseismometry data from SOHO, I scrolled down to the bottom of the page just to make sure I was on the right track. “There are still many details to be worked out….”

While the physicists work on the many details, Kid’s Astronomy gives a nice explanation. Solar Magnetic Field reversals occur more or less every eleven years and at a time when solar activity is at its peak. Solar storms travel through space towards Earth. Energy and radiation from solar flares and coronal mass ejections can harm astronauts, damage electronics on satellites, cause the most beautiful auroras blackouts on Earth by surges in power grids.

There have been predictions that the upcoming solar storm will outdo the 1859 Carrington Event, a super storm so intense that the Northern Lights could be seen from Rome!

Should I book a ticket to Rome or will media headlines change from Something big is about to happen on the Sun to Something is about to happen on the big Sun.

Well seeing that the Sun’s magnetic field has flipped 5.5 times before in my lifetime, for now I might as well carry on humming: Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it’s all right, sun, sun, sun, here it comes

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/05aug_fieldflip/
http://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/

Total Eclipse-Feb 2008

Posted on by July 20, 2021

Polluted-eclipseThere is little to compare with the emotions evoked by a lunar eclipse. One can set out to witness one of these events with a group of friends or join a host of spectators on a hilltop lookout but I prefer to go solo.
On 21 February 2008 I packed my gear, camera, binocs, coffee, chocolates and…. coffee into my 1956 VW Beetle in which I felt least likely to be hi-jacked and headed for Blouberg Strand which has a magnificent view of Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Although I like solo, I felt a need to be close to other people just for safety’s sake.
The eclipse had been widely publicized and I was expecting a crowd of onlookers on the beach and on the balconies of apartments. It was past midnight and the beach was dark and deserted. It felt a little creepy. I parked in a parking bay opposite an apartment block where there was still some activity but one by one the shutters closed and the lights went out. This was extreme solo. After giving my details and reasons for being there to a security guy and chatting to a hooker who had just taken a drunk client back to his apartment, I settled in to prepare for the eclipse.
At 03:13 I noticed the first slight darkening towards the top right limb of the Moon. From then on it was just me on Mother Earth and she had all intention of casting her shadow on the Moon as they silently progressed in their respective orbits. My emotions started building up. I scanned through all the events of my life. My camera was set up with a remote shutter release and I just clicked away, adjusting exposures as the Moon darkened. At 03:43 I could see a definite shadow and the chapters of my life closed one by one. I glanced over my shoulder to see if someone in the apartment block had set an alarm clock.
At 04:55 with only a slither of bright Moon visible, I noticed a ruddiness creep over the whole surface of the Moon. I felt connected to all my friends, witnessing the event from other locations. The eclipsed part of the Moon turned a rusty orange. I do not think I have seen a more beautiful sight. The security car approached and the guy gave me a thumbs up. I acknowledged the gesture. It was almost daybreak and I headed home before the early morning traffic. Close to home I stopped and caught one last glimpse of the eclipsed Moon through heavy city pollution.