Daily Archives: March 19, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. March 19, 2014

There is ongoing C-flare activity. The source region is NOAA 2010 (S15E48 on March 19). We expect further C-flaring activity with a chance of M-flares of 30%. At the time of the C4.7 flare (March 18, peak 22:52UT) and the C1.8 (March 19, peak 03:44UT) a type II radio outburst was detected, which typically indicates that a coronal mass ejection is associated with the flare. Because of the position of the source region, the CME’s are not expected to have an impact on the Earth. The solar wind has a speed below 400 km/s. The magnetic field vector changed pointing direction yesterday, March 18. A vague footprint of a coronal hole is visible in ACE data. Nevertheless, the geomagnetic conditions are quiet and are expected to stay quiet.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 + Imaging Source DMK + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 03/19/14
Time UT: 13:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

With SPONLI Space is getting closer

Equinox on a Spinning Earth

Image Credit: NASA, Meteosat, Robert Simmon

When does the line between day and night become vertical? Tomorrow. Tomorrow is an equinox on planet Earth, a time of year when day and night are most nearly equal. At an equinox, the Earth’s terminator — the dividing line between day and night — becomes vertical and connects the north and south poles. The above time-lapse video demonstrates this by displaying an entire year on planet Earth in twelve seconds. From geosynchronous orbit, the Meteosat satellite recorded these infrared images of the Earth every day at the same local time. The video started at the September 2010 equinox with the terminator line being vertical. As the Earth revolved around the Sun, the terminator was seen to tilt in a way that provides less daily sunlight to the northern hemisphere, causing winter in the north. As the year progressed, the March 2011 equinox arrived halfway through the video, followed by the terminator tilting the other way, causing winter in the southern hemisphere — and summer in the north. The captured year ends again with the September equinox, concluding another of billions of trips the Earth has taken — and will take — around the Sun.

NASA APOD 19-mar-14

A Corner of SNR in Vela

The Vela supernova remnant is a supernova remnant in the southern constellation Vela. Its source supernova exploded approximately 11,000-12,300 years ago (and was about 800 light years away). The association of the Vela supernova remnant with the Vela pulsar, made by astronomers at the University of Sydney in 1968, was direct observational proof that supernovae form neutron stars.

The Vela supernova remnant includes NGC 2736. It also overlaps the Puppis Supernova Remnant, which is four times more distant. Both the Puppis and Vela remnants are among the largest and brightest features in the X-ray sky.

The Vela supernova remnant (SNR) is one of the closest known to us. The Geminga pulsar is closer (and also resulted from a supernova), and in 1998 another supernova remnant was discovered, RX J0852.0-4622, which from our point of view appears to be contained in the southeastern part of the Vela remnant.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Astro-Physics AP130 Gran Turismo
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Losmandy G11
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Bouch & Lomb SCT 80/800
Guiding cameras: Philips SP 900 NC
Focal reducers: Astro-Physics 0.75x
Software: Canon Digital Photo Professional, PixInsight, PHD guiding
Dates: Jan. 19, 2012
Frames: 44×300″
Integration: 3.7 hours

Author: Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI

19 March 2014

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