Look out for the angry unicorn - Sunspot AR3664 - 09-05-24

[Elp]

Please let me know if any of the following is incorrect, I decided to do a bit of reading and have paraphrased a few sources to make the event more interesting (boy was it interesting).

 

We all remember the once in a lifetime viewing of “that” aurora from your home location on the night of 10^th May 2024. But do many people who witnessed it know where it came from?

As we approach our Sun’s next solar cycle peak (we know it to be every 11 years thanks to German amateur astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe’s observations and discovery in 1843) sunspot designation AR3664 revealed itself from around the solar limb earlier that same week. It was so large people were comparing it to the Carrington sunspot of 1859.

Astronomer Richard Carrington of Redhill, Surrey, England studied and discovered various aspects of our sun. Both he and Richard Hodgson on 1^st September 1859 had observed the first Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) an eruption near the sun’s surface due to changes in its localised magnetic fields, throwing immense energy into space. Both of them had observed the effects the flash had had on Earth based magnetometers from currents arising from enhanced ionospheric ionization. Carrington reported the event to the Royal Astronomical Society.

A day later on 2^nd September (after around 17 hours of having witnessed the flash from the CME) the effect of what they had witnessed was seen and felt. Having travelled the distance between the Sun and Earth the high energy solar particles ejected from the CME Carrington and Hodgson had witnessed bombarded the Earth’s magnetic field (magnetosphere). The estimated energy that was released was estimated to be 10^35 electron volts of energy, equivalent to a 10 megaton nuclear bomb or the amount of energy the sun releases in 10 seconds. The aurora caused by the particles interacting with the magnetosphere causing atoms to glow was witnessed far south and north into the tropics akin to turning night into rising sunlight, causing havoc to telegraph systems causing fires in some instances, disruption to naval navigation systems and reportedly causing shocks to some people interacting with metal objects.

Carrington had deduced the two events were connected and his observations of the sunspot he had observed and sketched and the resulting event was named in his honour.

AR3664 was estimated to be around 200,000KM in length spanning the equivalent of 15 Earths side by side. It had expelled at least four CME’s into space towards Earth, as the energy hit our magnetosphere it revealed colourful auroras far further afield than around the northern and southern poles as people across a lot of Canada and the USA, down to southern Europe in the northern hemisphere and up to Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina in the southern hemisphere witnessed the colourful spectacle. It was a sight to behold.

So when news of the appearance of AR3664 had been announced this perhaps very rare event I had to see for myself so on the 9^th May 2024 I setup my solar rig to visually see in white light and hydrogen alpha the magnificence of AR3664 and have compiled my images into one composition to share, hope you enjoy it, oh and look out for the angry unicorn…

 

 

Edited May 23 by Elp

[LukeTheNuke]

I see the angry unicorn!

Nice bit of background info about Carrington. I was reading about it the other day, as the whole country has gone aurora-mad. I was wondering if this monster AR and massive flaring means we probably are close to solar maximum. In which case, perhaps I shouldn't get a new solar filter, as it's all downhill from here, LOL!

I have this silly idea that one day I could be out observing the sun, going "Wow! Wow!!!! WOWWW!!! Oh no!!!!" And Kaboom, we're all gone. But what a way to go! But I think, perhaps I'd rather it doesn't put on too much of a show just yet.

[Elp]

A colourised version of the unicorn, I should really try imaging at a higher resolution next time:

[Elp]

The culmination of this sunspot event:

 

[Vroobel]

On 16/05/2024 at 18:34, Elp said:

Please let me know if any of the following is incorrect, I decided to do a bit of reading and have paraphrased a few sources to make the event more interesting (boy was it interesting).

 

We all remember the once in a lifetime viewing of “that” aurora from your home location on the night of 10^th May 2024. But do many people who witnessed it know where it came from?

As we approach our Sun’s next solar cycle peak (we know it to be every 11 years thanks to German amateur astronomer Samuel Heinrich Schwabe’s observations and discovery in 1843) sunspot designation AR3664 revealed itself from around the solar limb earlier that same week. It was so large people were comparing it to the Carrington sunspot of 1859.

Astronomer Richard Carrington of Redhill, Surrey, England studied and discovered various aspects of our sun. Both he and Richard Hodgson on 1^st September 1859 had observed the first Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) an eruption near the sun’s surface due to changes in its localised magnetic fields, throwing immense energy into space. Both of them had observed the effects the flash had had on Earth based magnetometers from currents arising from enhanced ionospheric ionization. Carrington reported the event to the Royal Astronomical Society.

A day later on 2^nd September (after around 17 hours of having witnessed the flash from the CME) the effect of what they had witnessed was seen and felt. Having travelled the distance between the Sun and Earth the high energy solar particles ejected from the CME Carrington and Hodgson had witnessed bombarded the Earth’s magnetic field (magnetosphere). The estimated energy that was released was estimated to be 10^35 electron volts of energy, equivalent to a 10 megaton nuclear bomb or the amount of energy the sun releases in 10 seconds. The aurora caused by the particles interacting with the magnetosphere causing atoms to glow was witnessed far south and north into the tropics akin to turning night into rising sunlight, causing havoc to telegraph systems causing fires in some instances, disruption to naval navigation systems and reportedly causing shocks to some people interacting with metal objects.

Carrington had deduced the two events were connected and his observations of the sunspot he had observed and sketched and the resulting event was named in his honour.

AR3664 was estimated to be around 200,000KM in length spanning the equivalent of 15 Earths side by side. It had expelled at least four CME’s into space towards Earth, as the energy hit our magnetosphere it revealed colourful auroras far further afield than around the northern and southern poles as people across a lot of Canada and the USA, down to southern Europe in the northern hemisphere and up to Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina in the southern hemisphere witnessed the colourful spectacle. It was a sight to behold.

So when news of the appearance of AR3664 had been announced this perhaps very rare event I had to see for myself so on the 9^th May 2024 I setup my solar rig to visually see in white light and hydrogen alpha the magnificence of AR3664 and have compiled my images into one composition to share, hope you enjoy it, oh and look out for the angry unicorn…

 

 

Thank you, Elp, it's really good. 👍

 

On 16/05/2024 at 20:01, LukeTheNuke said:

I see the angry unicorn!

Nice bit of background info about Carrington. I was reading about it the other day, as the whole country has gone aurora-mad. I was wondering if this monster AR and massive flaring means we probably are close to solar maximum. In which case, perhaps I shouldn't get a new solar filter, as it's all downhill from here, LOL!

I have this silly idea that one day I could be out observing the sun, going "Wow! Wow!!!! WOWWW!!! Oh no!!!!" And Kaboom, we're all gone. But what a way to go! But I think, perhaps I'd rather it doesn't put on too much of a show just yet.

What's a difference, if we're all gone? 🤔😏

I like this "Wow! Wow!!!! WOWWW!!! Oh no!!!!" 😁👍

Edited May 24 by Vroobel