Space Events

2015 to End with Auroras

After several days of pent-up quiet, big sunspot AR2473 erupted on Dec. 28th (12:49 UT), producing a slow but powerful M1.9-class solar flare. For more than an hour, UV radiation from the flare bathed the top of Earth's atmosphere, ionizing atoms and molecules. This, in turn, disrupted the normal propagation of shortwave radio signals on the dayside of our planet. Ham radio operators, mariners and aviators in South America, Africa and the south Atlantic Ocean may have noticed fades and blackouts of transmissions below 20 MHz.

2015 could end with an outburst of auroras. NOAA forecasters say there is a 60% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Dec. 30th when a CME is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. There is an equal 60% chance that the storms will spill over into Dec. 31st, New Year's Eve.

Space Events

A Huge Black Mark Has Appeared On The Sun

A vast ‘hole’ has appeared in the sun - a black mark the size of 50 Earths, which is spewing out particles towards our planet.

At worst, the coronal hole, which materialised last week, can interfere with some satellite communications and high-altitude radio transmissions.

It has released a stream of particles towards our planet, travelling across space at up to 500 miles per second, which have caused days of Northern Lights around the world as they hit our atmosphere.

Coronal holes are magnetically open areas that are one source of high-speed solar wind. They appear dark when viewed in many wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light, such as seen here. At times, the solar wind can generate auroras at higher latitudes on Earth.