The Sputniks Orbit: SPACE - S0 - 20210720 - Arctic Lightning, Galactic Current Sheet, Cosmology

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

SPACE - S0 - 20210720 - Arctic Lightning, Galactic Current Sheet, Cosmology

Happy Armstrong/Aldrin Moon Walk Day, 0bservers, 0bservers!

So... did I miss anything? ;)

Solar winds yesterday started out in the 360-400 KPS range until two related occurrences... occurred. A pair of Bt/Bz polarity collisions happened around 0400 UTC and 0445 UTC, and a third around 0700, followed by a sharp drop in Particle Density at 0730 UTC. At that point, solar wind speeds began to rise, peaking out at 450 KPS around 1800, and spiking up to nearly 520 KPS before midnight UTC. It calmed back to 440 KPS shortly thereafter, then back up to 500 KPS at 0700 UTC, and is now in the 440-490 KPS range. That second polarity collision seemed to unscramble the Phi Angle, stabilizing to the 150° range. Temperatures seemed to follow the solar wind pattern, from a low of 4200°K right around the time of the Particle Density Drop, peaking out to near 5200°K just after midnight, and then the drop and rise in the early morning hours. We stayed in the green on the KP-Index, but we did have a few KP-3s in the mix early yesterday and early today. The Magnetometer is nominal, and in a shallowing phase, so expect that to have a large high/low swing in the next day or two. Proton Flux and Electron Flux readings are blissfully dull. No dangerous spikes or surges on the X-Ray Flux chart, but we did have a couple jumps from low-Class B range to just above the Class C line around noon UTC and another about three hours later, with the background radiation increasing to about mid-Class B levels. The video loops show the coronal hole system at the North Pole has passed the midpoint but still dominates the crown, while there are two somewhat less organized holes developing along the equator, one of which is passing the centerline now. The Northeast sunspot group which had departed the Earth-facing disc in my last report is now returning, and if Ben's reporting from the last ten days has been any indication, it's been a busy little bee. Let's hope it has expended its energy and does no damage as it crosses. There are two sunspot groups in the South, appearing to be about 48-72 hours from crossing the centerline, and I'm seeing some other sunspot activity at the Eastern lim including some rather troublesome prominences. That activity is especially noticeable at 131Å. The Magnetogram image of the returning Northeast sunspot group is not comforting, appearing to be a BGD - Beta-Gamma-Delta, or Big-G*d-Damn spot! The new, yet departing Northwest sunspot group is also Beta-Gamma-Delta, but it is thankfully beginning to move out of range. The Southernmost sunspot is pretty small and disorganized, and the one above it does show on the disc but is barely visible magnetically. LASCO C3 did show an ejection in the Northeast around midnight UTC, but it appears to have come from behind, not in front, and was not as gnarly (yes, that is a scientific term) as the very large ejections we saw in the previous week. Man, we REALLY lucked out with those missing us. Let's hope our luck holds...

Personal Note: Thanks for your patience while I was gone, On-Call weeks are really hectic, and I miss doing these reports. Also, a shout out to my sister on her birthday. I still remember watching Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the moon during her birthday party back in 1969...

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DAY-yum, Ben Davidson's been a busy boy! A couple of new videos from Suspicious0bservers, "SOLAR KILLSHOT | The Sun Sent a Wake-Up Call", and "Earth Tilt | Ice Worlds".