STEREO spacecraft have recorded space weather events from their formation in the solar corona to their impact with the Earth. These observations revealed how the structures generated in the solar corona evolve during their 96 million mile journey to Earth.
The Proton-M/Breeze-M launch vehicle rolled out at Baikonur with the telecommunications satellite Express-AM4. Proton-M lifted off as planned, on August 18, 2011, but the satellite was lost for a while after the separation from the upper stage. Instead of being inserted on a geostationary transfer orbit with a 20 degree inclination, Express-AM4 ended up in a highly elliptical orbit with an inclination of 51 degrees. Most likely, the Breeze-M upper stage dropped off the satellite in the wrong orbit.
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There is a classification for solar flares… a solar flare can belong to a B, C, M, or X class, the X class corresponding to the largest strength. X-class flares cause serious disruptions on Earth: satellites get knocked out, communication systems fail, and ground power grids overload.
Wear sunscreen… Solar flare season is heating up!
On August 9, 2011, the largest solar flare to date of the current solar cycle was recorded. The magnitude of the solar flare was X6.9. The movie contains images recorded by NASA\’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Read more about NASA\’s Solar Dynamics Observatory…
Researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center discovered nucleobases in meteorites. Nucleobases are small molecules found in DNA and RNA. This supports the theory that building blocks of DNA and RNA were created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorites.
This close-up of an active region was recorded over a period of 36 hours (July 20-22, 2011). The magnetic forces are restless inside an active region.
Read more about NASA\’s Solar Dynamics Observatory…
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