September 2017 saw a wave of solar activity, with the Sun emitting 27 M-class and four X-class flares and releasing several powerful coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, from September 6 to 10.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, and coronal mass ejections are huge clouds of solar material and magnetic fields that erupt from the Sun at incredible speeds.
The activity came from one rapidly growing and active region - an area of intense and complex magnetic fields. As always, NASA and its partners had a variety of observing instruments, both from Earth and outer space, allowing scientists to study these events from a variety of vantage points.
With multiple views of solar activity, scientists can better track the evolution and distribution of solar eruptions to improve our understanding of space weather. The harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect people on Earth, however, when intense enough, it can disrupt the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. On the other hand, depending on the direction in which they move, flares can generate powerful geomagnetic storms in the Earth's magnetic field.
To better understand the underlying processes that drive these events, and ultimately improve space weather forecasts, many scientists observe the Sun around the clock in dozens of different wavelengths of light. Each can reveal unique structures and dynamics on the Sun's surface and deeper layers, giving researchers an integrated picture of the conditions leading to space weather.
Scientists are also looking at what effect the Sun has on the Earth and even on other planets. The effect of solar activity in September led to the observation of the Martian "northern lights" and across the globe on Earth in events known as neutron showers detected on Earth, which occur when fast particles in the solar eruption stream accelerate along Earth's magnetic field lines and flood the atmosphere.
Data from the satellites and instruments below show the wide range of data available to researchers as they use these recent space weather events to learn more about the star we live next to.
GOOS NOAA
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite NOAA-16, or GOES-16, observes the Sun's upper atmosphere, called the corona, at six different wavelengths, allowing it to observe a wide range of solar phenomena. GOES-16 captured this image of the X9.3 flare on September 6, 2017. It was the most intense flare recorded during the current 11-year solar cycle. The X grade denotes the most intense flares, and the number gives more information about its strength. X2 is twice as intense as X1, X3 is three times as intense, etc. GOES has also detected solar energetic particles associated with this activity.
S.D.O.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Laboratory observes the corona at 10 different wavelengths at 12-second cadences, allowing scientists to track highly dynamic events on the Sun such as solar flares X2.2 and X9.3. The images were taken on September 6, 2017, at a wavelength of ultraviolet light that shows solar material heated to more than a million degrees Fahrenheit. The X9.3 flare was the most intense flare recorded during the current solar cycle.
HINODE
JAXA/NASA Hinode captured this image of X8.2 on September 10, 2017, the second largest flare of this solar cycle, with its X-ray telescope. The instrument captures X-ray images of the corona to help scientists link changes in the Sun's magnetic field to explosive solar events such as flares. The flare originated from an extremely active region on the Sun's surface - the same area from which the largest flare of the cycle originated.
STEREO
The primary instruments housed at NASA's Solar Terrestrial Link Observatory, or STEREO, include a pair of coronagraph instruments, which use a metal disk called a hidden disk to study the corona. The wraparound disk blocks the Sun's bright light, allowing it to discern detailed features of the Sun's outer atmosphere and track coronal mass ejections as they erupt from the Sun.
On September 9, 2017, STEREO observed a CME ejection from the Sun. The next day, STEREO observed an even larger CME, which was associated with the X8.2 flare of the same day. The September 10 CME blasted away from the Sun at an estimated speed of up to 7 million mph and was one of the fastest CMEs ever recorded. The CME was not aimed at Earth. This magnetic field was pulled out from side to side and therefore did not cause significant geomagnetic activity.
ESH/NASA SOHO
Like STEREO, the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, uses a coronagraph to track solar storms. SOHO also observed CMEs that occurred on September 9-10, 2017; Some of these observations provide even more information for space weather models. As the CME expands beyond SOHO's field of view, a flurry of what appears to be snow floods the frame. These are high-energy particles ejected at low-beam speeds before the flash.
IRIS
NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer, or IRIS, sits at a lower level of the Sun's atmosphere, called the interface region, to determine how this region drives the constant changes in the Sun's outer atmosphere. The interface region feeds solar material into the corona and solar wind: in the photo taken on September 10, 2017, plumes of solar material appear like tadpoles floating on the surface of the Sun. These structures, called supra-arcade downdrafts, are sometimes observed in the corona during solar flares, and this particular set was associated with the X8.2 flare of the same day.
SORCE
NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment, or SORCE, collected this data on total solar radiation, the total amount of solar energy from the sun, throughout September 2017. While the Sun was emitting ultraviolet light at high levels, SORCE actually found a drop in total irradiance during intense solar activity for a month. A possible explanation for this observation is that over active regions where solar flares occur, a “sunspot darkening effect” occurs more than the effect of the bright ultraviolet radiation of the flare. As a result, total solar radiation suddenly dropped during the flares. Scientists are collecting long-term solar radiation data to understand not only our dynamic star, but also its relationship to Earth's environment and climate. This December, NASA is ready to launch the Full Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor, TSIS-1, to continue measuring solar radiation.
MAVEN
Intense solar activity also produced a global aurora on Mars more than 25 times brighter than ever seen in NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN mission. MAVEN studies the interaction of the Martian atmosphere with the solar wind, the constant flow of charged particles from the Sun. Images from the MAVEN ultraviolet spectrograph show the appearance of a bright aurora on Mars during a solar storm in September. The purple-white colors show the intensity of ultraviolet light on the night side of Mars.
Astronomers have recorded three strong flares on the Sun over the past week. The first of them is called the most powerful in the last twelve years.
How dangerous this astronomical phenomenon is and what consequences it can lead to – read in the selection of the most important facts from the “24” website.
What is a solar flare?
This is a super-powerful process of releasing light, heat and kinetic energy in all layers of the solar atmosphere. It lasts several minutes, releasing billions of megatons of energy in TNT equivalent.
What types are there?
Explosions on the Sun are classified into five types: A, B, C, M, X. A type A flare is characterized by a minimum degree of X-ray radiation - 10 nanowatts per square meter, and each subsequent type is 10 times more intense than the previous one. Class X flares are considered the most powerful and most dangerous. It was in the last few days, and one of them was assigned a score of X9.3.
X-class solar explosion: watch the video
Why does it happen?
A solar flare usually occurs near the neutral line of the magnetic field, which separates the north and south polar regions. Its frequency and power depend on the phase of the solar cycle. Recent flares were noticed in the geoeffective region near the Sun-Earth line, where the influence of the Sun on our planet is maximum.
Why is it dangerous?
Each solar flare produces a cloud of plasma, which, when reaching Earth, can cause magnetic storms. Now on our planet, according to scientists from the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences, its power is 10 times greater than expected. Scientists also associate the occurrence of natural disasters such as typhoons, hurricanes and earthquakes with solar flares.
This fact is confirmed by the powerful one that swept through Texas at the end of August, causing severe flooding in Houston, and which has already claimed the lives of 14 people, continuing to rage in the Caribbean Sea. Colossal damage was caused by and, which could develop into a tsunami.
On September 7, a series of solar flares occurred, reported the Laboratory of Solar X-ray Astronomy of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The photo shows the ejection of solar plasma from the X9.3 flare (frontal view from the Earth). The photo was taken by the LASCO C3 instrument on the SOHO satellite.
During the X9.3 solar flare recorded the day before, a large ejection of solar material occurred and it was directed towards Earth. This is evidenced by data received from space solar coronagraphs - unique instruments that observe the outer layers of the solar atmosphere and plasma flows in them. The ejection speed is currently being clarified, but based on the usual values for such events - no less than 1000 km per second - tomorrow evening clouds of plasma ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere with the colossal force of the explosion will come to our planet. The characteristic size of such clouds when they reach the Earth's orbit is up to 100 million kilometers or more. This means that in addition to the impact on the Earth’s magnetic field, our planet will be immersed for 1-2 days in hot matter, which just yesterday was part of the Sun’s atmosphere.
The mass ejection from the X9.3 flare reached Earth on September 8. A cloud of plasma from the Sun arrived in the orbit of our planet about 12 hours earlier than expected. This means that its speed was 1.5 times higher than expected, and the impact on the Earth was carried out with more power than planned.
A magnetic storm of level 4 on a 5-point scale is occurring on Earth. The magnitude of the event is approximately 10 times greater than predicted. Canada, now on the night side of the Earth, experiences strong auroras at high and mid-latitudes. The storm is planetary in nature.
The X-class 1.3 flare occurred on the evening of September 7 and was sourced from active region No. 2673, which had previously ejected three X-class flares and many M-class flares.
On September 8, flares M1.2, flares M1.3, M3.9 and many other flares of varying powers were recorded from this group of spots. The most powerful M7.8 was accompanied by an ejection of coronal matter towards the Earth. 20 minutes later, an M8.1 class flare occurred.
These days, 11 M-class flares occurred on the Sun! Over the entire previous year, about the same number of them happened! What caused such unprecedented activity of the Sun?
As we know, the Sun has 11-year activity cycles. It showed its last peak of activity in 2012-2014, when flares of varying powers on the Sun occurred every day. Now the Sun is at the minimum of its 11-year cycle and many weeks can pass without any flares at all.
Audio release of the program
http://sun-helps.myjino.ru/mzm/20170709_mzm.mp3However, our Sun is a very unpredictable star! Starting in July, groups of sunspots that were quite large for solar minimum began to form on it. It is groups of spots that emit flares into outer space. These groups produce a large number of C-class flashes and a few M-class flashes. At the beginning of September, two groups were formed at once, which within a day had already issued 11 M-class flashes and perhaps this is not the limit.
The radiation separated from the Sun flies towards the Earth, although this does not happen every time. When it reaches our magnetosphere, a brilliant northern lights effect will occur. It will look best in the Murmansk region. The spectacle will be available to northerners soon. Taking into account the speed of the emission, the flow will reach our planet in 3-4 days, after which a geomagnetic storm will begin, which can cause auroras up to the 50th parallel! This will happen around September 9-10.
In general, the intensity of flares is divided into 3 classes - C, M and X. X-flares are observed extremely rarely and are characteristic of peaks of solar activity at the maximum of the 11-year cycle. M-flares are very rare and occur several times a year at the minimum of the 11-year cycle. What caused such a numerous stream of M-flares during these first days of September?
Science cannot give an answer to this question. Science does not know the causes of spots and flares; it has not learned to predict them. Our project “The Sun Will Help Us” goes beyond science and looks for answers to solar riddles in the history, mythology and culture of all peoples. There was a time when the Sun was worshiped by all the inhabitants of the Earth in one form or another. He was considered a living, intelligent being and even a superintelligent deity. Maybe that's why Science can't get into God's head with your primitive concepts and find the answer to the question - why does the Sun send out its flares at a certain point in time?
What can we do in anticipation of the high-energy shower of these solar flares on Earth? It must be consciously accepted and used to maximum benefit.. We know that solar energy is primarily spiritual, and only then material and physical. The energy of the Sun is absolute harmony, law, purity, truth, happiness and love. Everything that is opposite to this energy burns in its scorching rays. Therefore, people need to consciously abandon lies, self-interest, ignorance, sadness and unbelief in their lives. Otherwise, we will have the consequences that are so frightening in the news - headaches, pressure changes, insomnia and rapid heartbeat.
The sun does not abandon its children, it helps them, despite the fact that the children have turned away from it for millennia. The time has come to return to the Sun and it will definitely help us!
On Saturday, September 9, 2017, astronomers noticed the most powerful solar flares in the last 12 years. Intense activity of the daylight has been observed in the last few days, approximately from September 6..8. Weather-dependent people managed to feel weakness, loss of performance, and drowsiness. What consequences does a sudden “solar” attack threaten our planet with?
The plasma cloud, which was ejected towards the Earth, provoked a strong magnetic storm (it was assigned level 4 on a 5-point scale). Residents of Canada were able to see - celestial illumination was observed at middle and high latitudes. There have been reports that in some regions there are problems with communications and with equipment capable of responding to anomalous magnetic activity.
RAS researcher Alexey Struminsky stated that during some of the flares a sunquake could be observed. It was possible to record this curious natural phenomenon thanks to photographs that show how seismic waves propagate across the sun.
However, Struminsky is confident that a “solar attack” will not cause significant damage to people’s health or the stability of radio communications. According to the scientist, the powerful flare had virtually no effect on the performance of satellites and radio transmitters. The deterioration in well-being that many people experienced was explained by Struminsky as a placebo effect.
And yet the threat remains
It is quite possible that anomalous solar activity can pose a threat to all of humanity. Researchers from NASA came to this conclusion. According to astronomers of this aerospace agency, powerful solar flares can provoke earthquakes and other natural disasters, as well as cause the awakening of volcanoes. Objects such as the American supervolcano pose a particular danger in this regard.
What kind of natural disasters await the inhabitants of the Earth if abnormal solar activity continues for a long period of time? In addition to earthquakes and problems with radio communications, floods, landslides and avalanches may begin in some areas of the planet.
Angry nature can destroy urban infrastructure overnight. Short circuits, burning transformers, fires and interruptions in water supply - millions of people may experience all these “delights” (the disaster will primarily affect residents of large cities). However, scientists' forecasts are reassuring - at the moment, the likelihood of a space apocalypse is extremely low.
Our ancestors knew about this
We should not forget that current astronomy as a science is the “successor” of astrology. For thousands of years, astrologers have been observing the movement of celestial bodies, their influence on the Earth and its inhabitants. Particular attention has always been paid to the sun, more precisely to periods of its activity, eclipses and other anomalies.
Of course, the stargazers of antiquity did not have the opportunity to conduct spectral analysis of the sun and other complex observations. But astrologers may have noticed that from time to time the daylight changes its color, becomes blood red, or partially disappears from the sky (as a result of an eclipse).
What is curious is that such periods of unnatural solar activity always coincided with extremely negative events, major disasters or upheavals. These could be wars, epidemics, popular uprisings or major natural disasters that claim thousands of lives. This fact was known to many peoples, which contributed to the spread of the ancient Egyptians and many other nationalities.
It is not difficult to see that solar phenomena have an impact on our planet. Simultaneously with powerful solar flares on September 6–9, 2017, several more unusual phenomena could be observed. Firstly, Hurricane Irma formed with the highest category of danger. More precisely, he was assigned a category of 5++ (one might say 6 points on a 5-point scale). Secondly, in Russia, in Kamchatka, two volcanoes “awakened” - Shiveluch and Klyuchevskaya Sopka.
