MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Lisa Grossman – “Side-by-side views of the sun two years ago and the sun now show what a difference a solar cycle makes.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s view of the sun in 2009 (left), toward the end of an extended solar minimum, captures a dull and passive sun. The green coloration (added to make the extreme ultraviolet light visible to human eyes) makes the sun look almost cool enough to touch.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a contrasting view March 27 and 28 in similar wavelengths of ultraviolet light. The sun now displays several active regions that flicker and glow as the star slowly spins.”  Read more.

“Spring has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, which means that birds are chirping, flowersare blooming — and fireballs are lighting up the sky, NASA says.

For some mysterious reason, the number of fireballs — dramatic meteors that blaze brighter than any planet when they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere — peaks at this time of year.

‘Spring is fireball season,’ said Bill Cooke, of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Center, in a statement. ‘For reasons we don’t fully understand, the rate of bright meteors climbs during the weeks around the vernal equinox.'” Read more.

“A NASA spacecraft watching the sun has caught a dazzling view of a solar eruption that launched a vast tendril of magnetic plasma into space.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the sun tentacle, which scientists call a solar prominence, on March 19 as it erupted into space with a rounded, twisting motion.

The eruption occurred over five hours as SDO watched the sun in the ultraviolet range of the light spectrum, SDO mission scientists said in a statement. The solar observatory watched as the prominence twisted up from the sun and expanded, then became unstable.

Ultimately, the sun filament lost cohesion and its particles streamed away from the sun.”  Read more.

“The sun unleashed another major solar flare Wednesday, a solar storm so powerful it could spawn dazzling northern lights displays that could be visible from even New York City.

The solar flare erupted at 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT), letting loose a wave of charged particles that is aimed straight at Earth and should arrive in the next few days.

When it does, it could supercharge the Earth’s aurora borealis — also known as the Northern Lights — when the particles interact with the planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere. [Photos: Dazzling Auroras Seen by Northern Observers]

‘This flare could make the Northern Lights visible as far south as Washington State, central Idaho, northern Wyoming, the Dakotas and east to Chicago, Detroit, NYC and Boston,’ explains SPACE.com’s skywatching columnist Joe Rao. ‘Of course, we have to hope that the subatomic particles emitted by the flare arrive at the Earth’s vicinity during the nighttime hours and of course, that skies are clear!'”  Read more.

“The Hermanus Space Weather Warning Centre (SWWC) on Sunday said a large solar flare was currently being experienced in South Africa. The solar flare would result in higher radiation levels from the sun.

SWWC’s forecaster Kobus Olckers said people should be careful when they go outside.

‘People must wear high sunscreen factor at the moment or preferably go shopping,’ he said.”  Read more.

“Weeks after a story shot across the Web claiming that the imminent explosion of a nearby star would result in the appearance of a second sun in the sky — a story that was later debunked — two suns were caught on camera yesterday in China. The suns — one fuzzy and orange, the other a crisp yellow orb — appeared side-by-side, one slightly higher than the other.

What’s going on? Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to Space.com, asked Jim Kaler, the University of Illinois astronomer who squelched the excitement over the aforementioned exploding Betelgeuse and who has written books on the day and night sky. The double sun image is an effect of optical refraction, Kaler said, but it’s a ‘pretty darn rare’ one, and one not fully explained by science.

‘I doubt it’s been computer modeled,’ he said. ‘There must have been some blob of atmosphere somewhere that caused this truly spectacular phenomenon, which in a sense is a mirage.'”  Read more.

“IT’S not a bad moon rising, but it is a big one.

The question of whether trouble’s on the way, however, is entirely up to what or who you believe.

In a fortnight Earth will experience the biggest moon it has seen in nearly two decades.

As well as providing some unique photo opportunities, some astronomers – well, one – are already predicting it may bring more worrying disruptions to the Earth’s climate patterns.

Earthquakes are not out of the question. More about that later.”  Read more.

“This huge solar flare certainly lives up to its name. It’s called the Monster Prominence, and was filmed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory when it exploded on 24 February. The magnetic eruption has been sped up here (see video) but in reality it twisted and flared for 90 minutes.”  See here.