Solar Weather:
Solar Effects:
Information from
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/info/SolarEffects.html
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Today's Space
Weather ~
~ Story: No Where To Hide ~
Space Weather Operations
SWPC's Space Weather Operations branch (SWO) is the national and world
warning center for disturbances that can affect people and equipment working in
the space environment. Jointly operated by NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, SWO
provides forecasts and warnings of solar and geomagnetic activity to users in
government, industry, and the private sector.
SWO continuously monitors, analyzes, and forecasts the environment between
the Sun and Earth. The Center receives solar and geophysical data in real time
from a large number of ground-based observatories and satellite sensors around
the world. SWO forecasters use these data to predict solar and geomagnetic
activity and issue worldwide alerts of extreme events.
Solar Cycles
The Sun goes through cycles of high and low activity that repeat
approximately every 11 years. The number of dark spots on the Sun (sunspots)
marks this variation; as the number of sunspots increases, so does solar
activity. Sunspots are sources of flares, the most violent events in the solar
system. In a matter of minutes, a large flare releases a million times more
energy than the largest earthquake.
Solar-Terrestrial Effects
Episodic solar activity has a number of effects that are of interest to us. A
radiation dose from energetic particles is an occasional hazard for astronauts
and for electronics on satellites. Geomagnetic field
disturbances may damage power systems, disrupt communications, degrade high-tech
navigation systems, or create the spectacular aurora (Northern and Southern
lights). SWPC provides warnings of these events and continues the
solar monitoring that began 400 years ago with Galileo's invention of the
telescope.
About the Solar X-ray status monitor
Information from
http://www.n3kl.org/sun/status.html
The X-ray Solar status monitor downloads data periodically from the NOAA
Space Environment Center FTP server. The
previous 24 hours of 5 minute Long-wavelength
X-ray data
from each satellite (GOES 8 and GOES 10) is analyzed, and an appropriate level
of activity for the past 24 hours is assigned as follows:
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Normal: Solar X-ray flux is quiet (< 1.00e-6 W/m^2) |
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Active: Solar X-ray flux is active (>= 1.00e-6 W/m^2) |
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M Class Flare: An M Class flare has occurred (X-ray flux >= 1.00e-5
W/m^2) |
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X Class Flare: An X Class flare has occurred (X-ray flux >= 1.00e-4
W/m^2) |
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Mega Flare: An unprecedented X-ray event has occurred (X-ray flux >=
1.00e-3 W/m^2)
The designation "Mega Flare" was chosen by Kevin Loch when the status
monitor was created on March 4, 1999.
There is no "official" designation for flares in this range.
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About the Geomagnetic Field status monitor
The Geomagnetic Field status monitor downloads data periodically from the NOAA
Space Environment Center FTP server. The
previous 24 hours of 3 hour Planetary
Kp Index data is
analyzed and an appropriate level of activity for the past 24 hours is assigned
as follows:
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Quiet: the Geomagnetic Field is quiet (Kp < 4)
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Active: the Geomagnetic Field has been unsettled (Kp=4)
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Storm: A Geomagnetic Storm has occurred (Kp>4) |
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