Beginning of a new Sun Cycle

Channel Hopper

First images of some sunspots, it's been a year since anything flared up on the surface of the Sun, and like buses, two turn up at the same time.

_http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/

For the first in a new cycle, these eruptions are rather bigger than expected.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Channel Hopper

And a link to the potential of solar activity initiating/inducing seismic tremors on orbiting satellites.

_http://www.vukcevic.co.uk/solarcurrent.pdf

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

dig deep

That´s hot

Soho reports even hotter one´s coming up

T_G

And there was me thinking you were refering to The Sun starting to support the tories after backing Labour for the past 10 or so years...Is there maybe a correlation between the sun cycles and The Sun cycles???

T_G I only believe stuff that comes straight from Mr. Horses mouth!

Channel Hopper

Unfortunately it's not a joke (unlike the 'news'paper).

We have about two weeks before the new spots arrive from the far side, and there could well be more about to start.

Whilst the news over here avoids the inclusion of solar data, over in Russia for example, the weathermen take the activity quite seriously, in both the way it affects the climate, and the effects it has on people.

Not to forget the satellites you and I are taking signals from are highly sensitive to any changes from the Sun.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Channel Hopper

And some additional pictures from the 'other side'.

Attached Thumbnails

   

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Channel Hopper

On the way, plus a(nother) comet.

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

dig deep

Comets, urrk
I rather have sunspots than comets in the Earth area.

Channel Hopper

Comets rarely cause damage on, or above the planet's surface, sunspots however are the precursor to a lot of communication disruption, and, as per the link within the second post, activity on this planet as well.


Hold onto your hats, something big appears to be on its way round.

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

dig deep

When comets hit us they do it in Full Speed !

Solar storm will kill gadgets mostly.

Channel Hopper

A comet would have to hit the ground/ocean at a final diameter of some 2 kilometres. At the fastest speed and minimal angle (ie perpendicular to the surface/head on) the original diameter would have to be some 7 to 10 kilometres in diameter.

Very few comets have that sort of mass (the Oort belt has some rather large stuff sitting out there though), and even fewer are anywhere near the orbit of this planet.

The average collision rate of planetary / climate damaging comets is approximately 1 in every 50 million years. Real global killers are about six times less common.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

dig deep

Yes
The last one was here for 65 M years ago so it is time....

Channel Hopper

It still has to be rather large before it hits the atmosphere, and the big ones are being watched.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

PaulR

Don't forget that Jupiter and the other gas giants do a very effective job, with their large gravitational fields, of mopping up a lot of space debris so that it isn't around to hit the Earth.

PaulR As I get older I find myself thinking about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

Channel Hopper

A list of stuff in the solar system by diameter

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

dig deep

Still, if a NEO (Near Earth Object) is spotted we can´t do much about it.

Not now, perhaps in a near future.

The Gas Planets saves us (usually) but there is a 60 Million years chance. We had a big one in russia, let us hope for another 60MY break

Channel Hopper

That is a different question, the technology will not exist for a few years yet, so the need to preserve as much atmosphere as possible is high up on the list.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"