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UARS
RE-ENTRY ZONE: NASA has released
a new statement pinpointing the re-entry of the
UARS satellite on Sept. 24th: "The Joint Space
Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California has determined the satellite entered
the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean at 14.1 degrees
south latitude and 189.8 degrees east longitude
. This location is over a broad, remote ocean area
in the Southern Hemisphere, far from any major land
mass. The debris field is located between 300 miles
and 800 miles downrange, or generally northeast
of the re-entry point. NASA is not aware of any
possible debris sightings from this geographic area."
[more]
SUBSIDING
STORM: A severe geomagnetic storm
(Kp=7 to 8) that began yesterday when a CME hit
Earth's magnetic field is subsiding. At the peak
of the disturbance, auroras were sighted around
both
poles
and in more than six US states including Michigan,
New
York, South
Dakota, Maine,
Massachusetts
and Minnesota:
"The evening started off beautifully
here in northeast Minnesota," says Travis Novitsky,
who photographed the display from Grand Portage.
"Almost as soon as it was dark we were seeing
tall columns of green and red light. It was brief,
yet spectacular!"
Sky watchers at the highest latitudes
should remain alert for auroras as Earth's magnetic
field continues to reverberate from the CME impact.
Aurora alerts:
text,
voice.
more images: from
Aleksander Chernucho of Kola peninsula, Russia;
from
Minoru Yoneto of Queenstown, New Zealand; from
Beatrice van Eden of Antarctica; from
Douglas Kiesling of Osakis, Minnesota; from
Vanessa Gervais of Chisasibi, Quebec, Canada;
from
Bjørnar G Hansen of Kvaløya, Norway; from
Steven Graham of Christchurch, New Zealand;
from
Mika Puurula of Sotkamo, Finland; from
Jonathan Tucker of Whitehorse, Yukon; from
Julius Jahre Sætre of Vestfold, Norway; from
Sternwarte Riesa of Segelflugplatz Riesa/ Canitz,
Germany; from
Elizabeth Gyurgyak of Tananger, Norway; from
Reed Ingram Weir of Northumberland, UK; from
Krzysztof Polakowski of Rimforsa, Sweden; from
Thilo Bubek of Tromsø, Norway; from
Bjarne Riesto of Varanger, Norway; from
Marek Nikodem of Szubin, Poland;
BIG
SUNSPOT: The source of all this
solar and geomagnetic activity is sunspot AR1302.
Measuring more than 150,000 km from end to end,
the sprawling active region is visible even without
a solar telescope. Fabiano Belisário Diniz saw it
plainly in last night's sunset from Curitiba, Brazil:
"It was overcast and cold all
day long, but at the end of the day a break in the
clouds revealed the sun and AR1302," says Diniz.
"What a great sight!"
The sunspot has quieted down since
unleashing dual X-flares on Sept. 22nd and 24th.
Nevertheless, NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance
of more X-flares during the next 24 hours. Any such
eruptions would be Earth-directed as the sunspot
crosses the center of the solar disk. Solar
flare alerts: text,
voice.
more images: from
Ali Norouzi of Karaj, Iran; from
Stefano Sello of Pisa, Italy; from
Phil Greaves of Sydney Australia; from
Stefan Plach of Stadt Wehlen, Saxony, Germany;
from
Monty Leventhal OAM of Sydney, Australia; from
Rogerio Marcon of Campinas SP Brasil; from
Francisco A. Rodriguez of Cabreja Mountain Observatory,
Canary Islands;
September
2011 Aurora Gallery
[previous Septembers: 2010,
2009, 2008,
2007,
2006,
2005,
2004]
