Daily Archives: June 12, 2014

The Sun Online and solar activity. June 12, 2014

During last 24 hours four M-class flares were reported, and the strongest one was a M2.7 flare which originated from the Catania sunspot group 81 (NOAA AR 2087). The flare peaked at 10:21 UT on June 12 and was possibly associated with the CME (based on SDO/AIA data).  More will be reported as soon as coronagraph data become available. The X1.0 flare (peaking at 09:06 UT) on June 11, M3.9 flare (peaking at 21:03 UT) on June 11 and the M2.0 flare (peaking at 04:21 UT) on June 12 were associated with narrow CMEs which will therefore not arrive at the Earth. The faint halo CME first seen in the SOHO LASCO C2 field of view at 14:36 UT, on June 10  had angular width of about 270 degrees. The bulk of the CME mass was directed northward from the Sun-Earth line. Currently available data give no indications about
possible on disc signatures of the CME. We do not expect this CME to arrive at the Earth. The faint partial halo CME first seen in the SOHO LASCO C2 field of view at 18:00 UT, on June 10 had angular width of about 180 degrees and the bulk of the CME mass  directed north-east from the Sun-Earth line. From the currently available data it seems that the CME was associated with the flare at E170 as seen from the Earth, and will therefore not arrive at the Earth. We expect C-class, M-class and X-class flares in the coming hours, in particular from the Catania sunspot groups 81, 69 and 76 (NOAA AR 2087, 2080 and 2085, respectively). Due to the position of the Catania sunspot groups 69 and 76 (NOAA AR 2080 and 2085, respectively) on the western solar hemisphere, we maintain the warning condition for a proton event.
The Earth is still inside the fast solar wind (speed of about 500 km/s).  The interplanetary magnetic field magnitude is about 4 nT. The geomagnetic conditions are at the moment quiet and expected to remain so in the following hours. The glancing blow associated with the halo CME from June 10 is expected to arrive at the Earth in the morning of June 13, and it might result in active geomagnetic conditions.
SIDC

Equipment: Coronado 90 +  Imaging Source DMK  + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Date: 06/12/14
Time UT: 20:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.

Observatory SPONLI

  

The Tarantula Zone 

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Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi

 The Tarantula Nebula is more than 1,000 light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region within our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). That cosmic arachnid lies toward the upper left in this deep and colorful telescopic view made through broad-band and narrow-band filters. The image spans nearly 2 degrees (4 full moons) on the sky and covers a part of the LMC over 8,000 light-years across. Within the Tarantula (NGC 2070), intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other violent star-forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and bubble-shaped clouds In fact, the frame includes the site of the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, just above center. The rich field of view is located in the southern constellation Dorado.

NASA APOD 12-Jun-14

Cocoon Nebula

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IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19Sh 2-125, and the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster is also known as Collinder 470. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, and the bright open clusterM39. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years. When viewing IC 5146, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: GSO 8″ f/8 RC GSO
Imaging cameras: SBIG ST-8300M
Mounts: 10Micron GM2000 QCI
Software: MSB Software AstroArt 5
Filters: Baader Planetarium LRGB CCD 1.25″
Dates: Sept. 26, 2011
Frames: 48×300″
Integration: 4.0 hours

Author: Hermann Schieder

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 12 June 2014