Still no sunspots...

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by abx-sun

Now you can see it here:



On the left border you see an new spot which may develop.
I wonder if this will become something real ...

Let's hope

Felix

It's high latitude suggests a cycle 24 spot, as well as the polarity, if it develops.

NASA - Backward Sunspot

Originally Posted by NASA

Sunspots are planet-sized magnets created by the sun's inner magnetic dynamo. Like all magnets in the Universe, sunspots have north (N) and south (S) magnetic poles. ...

Love to hear more about your interest and work on this.

[abx-sun]

Hi "REASON"

thanks for your comment.
For me, sunspots are a big help, as the shortwave communication paths
for long distance in the frequency range between 13 and 30 MHz depend
strongly on the existance of many sunspots.
With the present near zero sunspots theses bands are nearly dead.

May I therefore hope for sunspots ???

Felix

[REASON]

Originally Posted by abx-sun

Hi "REASON"

thanks for your comment.
For me, sunspots are a big help, as the shortwave communication paths
for long distance in the frequency range between 13 and 30 MHz depend
strongly on the existance of many sunspots.
With the present near zero sunspots theses bands are nearly dead.

May I therefore hope for sunspots ???

Felix

Well absolutely! Gotta keep the paths of communication open.

I find this interesting as well. How do sunspots (or solar magnetic activity, I presume) improve shortwave communication within this frequency range here on Earth? I wasn't aware there was a relationship.

By the way, welcome to Hypo.

[abx-sun]

Originally Posted by REASON

Well absolutely! Gotta keep the paths of communication open.

I find this interesting as well. How do sunspots (or solar magnetic activity, I presume) improve shortwave communication within this frequency range here on Earth? I wasn't aware there was a relationship.

By the way, welcome to Hypo.

Hi "REASON"

you are near to the truth with your assumption.

Most shortwave radio users know that there is a correlation between sunspots and propagation conditions.
The F layer of the ionosphere is caused mostly by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. During times of high solar activity, there is more radiation from the Sun, and the resulting higher ionization levels in the F layer allow higher frequencies to be reflected. For example, around solar maximum, the 10 meter band (28 to 30 MHz) is frequently open for extended periods of time, and long distances can be worked with rather low power levels.

If you want to know more about the influence of the sunspots to radio communication, I recommend to read this:
- cvarc.org/tech/solarindice.html

I hope this answers your question.

Felix

[abx-sun]

Now it is over one week since I made my first posting here.
In this time we could see how a small disturbance moved from the left to the right surface without to develop to a sunspot.
At the beginning it was not clear, whether a new sunspot will develop, or not.
The disturbance was only visible in the magnetogram view, and could not be seen on the intensity view. It could be nicely seen, how the activity was reducing during the last 8 days, and at the same time the area of the disturbance increased. Now, just a few small black and white points are visible, before they are fading out completely.
See picture today:
gong.nso.edu/Daily_Images/ct/jpeg/Recent/ctbqa090404t1654.jpg


Felix

[Turtle]

We get few chances to even see the Sun here in the Pacific Northwest lately, so I'm takin' a knee to NASA again.

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Originally Posted by Spaceweather

Daily Sun: 17 Apr 09

The sun is blank--no sunspots. Credit: SOHO/MDI



NEW: Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 22 days
2009 total: 94 days (88%)
Since 2004: 605 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days

NASA article on Solar Minimum to date: >> NASA - Deep Solar Minimum

[Buffy]

And for those of you who would actually like to buy some:





Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye,
Buffy

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Buffy

And for those of you who would actually like to buy some:





Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye,
Buffy

Thanks Buffet. Besides my poor work, I'm a little slow, but I'll look into it as I never eat anything I can't lift. Speaking of slow, did you hear the one about CME's slowing waaaaayyyyy doooowwwwnnnn during our little solar minimum? Well, you simply must hear this juicy gossip.

Spaceweather.com Time Machine

Originally Posted by Spaceweather.com

April 16, 2009 ... In active times, CMEs can blast away from the sun faster than 1000 km/s. Even during the solar minimum of 1996, CMEs often revved up to 500 or 600 km/s. "Almost all the CMEs we've seen since the end of April 2008, however, are very slow, less than 300 km/s."

Is this just another way of saying "the sun is very quiet?" Or do slow-motion CMEs represent a new and interesting phenomena? The jury is still out. One thing is clear: solar minimum is more interesting than we thought. ...

[Turtle]

Don't blink, or you'll miss a spot!

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Originally Posted by Spaceweather

Daily Sun: 01 May 09

Tiny, old-cycle sunspot 1016 is disappearing over the sun's western limb.. Credit: SOHO/MDI
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 0 days
2009 total: 104 days (88%)
Since 2004: 615 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days

SpaceWeather.com: Spotless Days: The Sun Plunges into the Deepest Solar Minimum in a Century

[Turtle]

new news is knew news and that's good enough new knews for me.

NASA - Mystery of the Missing Sunspots, Solved?

Originally Posted by NASA

June 17, 2009: The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.

At an American Astronomical Society press conference today in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots.

Rachel Howe and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona, used a technique called helioseismology to detect and track the jet stream down to depths of 7,000 km below the surface of the sun. The sun generates new jet streams near its poles every 11 years, they explained to a room full of reporters and fellow scientists. The streams migrate slowly from the poles to the equator and when a jet stream reaches the critical latitude of 22 degrees, new-cycle sunspots begin to appear.

Howe and Hill found that the stream associated with the next solar cycle has moved sluggishly, taking three years to cover a 10 degree range in latitude compared to only two years for the previous solar cycle.

The jet stream is now, finally, reaching the critical latitude, heralding a return of solar activity in the months and years ahead.

"It is exciting to see", says Hill, "that just as this sluggish stream reaches the usual active latitude of 22 degrees, a year late, we finally begin to see new groups of sunspots emerging." ...

Just so, we have a spot emerging today, albeit just heading to the back side soon.

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

Originally Posted by Spaceweather.com

Daily Sun: 17 June 09

A new sunspot is forming in the circled area. Credit: SOHO/MDI