#SolarMaximum could hit us harder and sooner than we thought. How dangerous will the sun's chaotic peak be?

The sun is quickly approaching a major peak in solar activity. Experts warn it could potentially begin by the end of 2023, years before initial predictions suggested.

By Harry Baker, June 23, 2023

"Originally, scientists predicted that the current solar cycle would peak in 2025. But a bumper crop of sunspots, #SolarStorms and rare solar phenomena suggest solar maximum could arrive by the end of this year at the earliest — and several experts told Live Science we are poorly prepared. "

• The sun is becoming more active and may reach peak activity sooner than expected.

• Solar maximum was predicted to happen in 2025, but #sunspot activity has changed that.

• An unusual burst of sunspots this year suggests solar maximum could hit by the end of 2023.

#SolarFlares #SolarFlare #SolarCycle24 #CarringtonEvent #CarringtonEffect #LightsOut

Read more:
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/solar-maximum-could-hit-us-harder-and-sooner-than-we-thought-how-dangerous-will-the-suns-chaotic-peak-be

Now we know how a solar storm took out a fleet of Starlinks

by Carolyn Collins, April 3, 2023

"The folks at Starlink found that out the hard way in February 2022. On January 29th that year, the sun belched out a class M 1.1 flare and related coronal mass ejection. Material from the sun traveled out on the solar wind and arrived at Earth a few days later. On February 3, Starlink launched a group of 49 satellites to an altitude only 130 miles above Earth's surface. They didn't last long, and now solar physicists know why."

#SolarFlare #SolarFlares #SpaceWeather #SolarCycle24 #CarringtonEvent #SolarWind #CMEs #KesslerSyndrome

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2023-04-solar-storm-fleet-starlinks.html

May 19, 2023

SURPRISE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Surprising forecasters, a crack opened in Earth's magnetic field on May 19th. #Solar wind poured through the gap, sparking a G2-class #geomagnetic storm. Naked-eye auroras were visible across many northern-tier US states while photographic auroras descended as far south as Missouri (latitude +40.2N):

"'The night started off with a surprise passage of #Starlink satellites whose 21 or so members flared to incredibly bright for a few seconds,' says photographer Dan Bush of Albany, Missouri. 'Then the red auroras came and were visible to my camera for about an hour or so.'

"This event was probably caused by a near-miss #CME--one of many that left the sun last week on trajectories slightly off the sun-Earth line. South-pointing magnetic fields in the CME's wake washed over Earth. Those south-pointing fields partially cancelled Earth's north-pointing magnetic field, lowering our defenses against the solar wind."

#SolarFlare #SolarFlares #SpaceWeather #SolarCycle24 #CarringtonEvent #SolarWind #CMEs

https://spaceweather.com/

Hold onto your hats! Very active sunspot region 3310 just belched out an M 8.9 fare (almost X-class), and is about to become Earth-facing.

Via Spaceweather.com - A DANGEROUS SUNSPOT: Growing sunspot AR3311 has an unstable 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters say there is a 75% chance of M-class flares and a 35% chance of X-flares on May 21st. "

Latest #Solar news:
Solarham.com
SpaceWeather.com

#SolarFlare #SolarFlares #SpaceWeather #SolarCycle24 #CarringtonEvent

The #spaceweatherwoman has an updated #spaceweather forecast for the #NewYear. Looks like an #AuldLangSyne forecast from #solarcycle24 #hamradio #amateurradio #solarcycle25 #solarstorm #SolarFlare #SolarFlares #Auroras

https://twitter.com/TamithaSkov/status/1609045312144048128?t=kFj8lhXjqF-vyPkkBfh6-A&s=09