Large Coronal Hole Faces Earth - Spotless Sun Sparks Bright Auroras

CHANCE OF MAGNETIC STORMS THIS WEEK: NOAA forecasters say there is a 45% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Oct. 18th and 19th when Earth enters a new stream of solar wind.

The New Moon will provide a velvety-dark backdrop for auroras around the Arctic Circle. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. SPOTLESS SUN SPARKS BRIGHT AURORAS: The sun just did something ironic. For a whole week, Oct. 9th – 15th, the face of the sun was utterly blank.

There were no sunspots and no solar flares; NOAA classified solar activity as “very low.” At the same time, space weather was remarkably stormy. From Oct. 11th through 15th, not a single day went by without a geomagnetic storm.

Solar wind spewing from a large coronal hole hit Earth’s magnetic field on Oct. 11th. It mimicked the effect of a CME (a cloud of gas hurled toward us by an exploding sunspot), rattling our planet’s magnetic field and lighting up polar regions with beautiful lights. Five days of G1- and G2-class geomagnetic storms ensued.

Clips, images credit: SOLAR MONITOR, NASA/SDO, ESA

http://www.spaceweather.com/

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