Strange Radio Emission Event on 20.1 Mhz

 

At 8:03 p.m. PST on Nov. 28 (0403 UTC Nov. 29), I happened to be recording my 20.1 Mhz reception, when this interesting event unfolded. I was also capturing the spectrum of the receiver at the time, so I have an interesting documentation of what seems to be a Jupiter L Burst.

I checked the Jupiter Radio Storm Prediction for this period, and this event occured at the end of a predicted A/Io-A event.

Did anyone else catch this, or has anyone ever heard this kind of burst before?

(Note the "residual" spectrum of the event fading off?)

 

Jim Tegerdine, Meadowcreek Park Observatory

Marysville, WA, USA

Moon Crossing

Watch as a Moon halo appears on the left, followed by the Moon as it crosses the sky above my location. This video covers the time from 1:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. Nov. 25.

QUIET SUN

After several weeks of high solar activity, the Sun has quieted down a bit.

(Image: Meadowcreek Park Observatory)

HOW BIG IS A SUNSPOT???

Measurements taken at Meadowcreek Park Observatory indicate that huge sunspot #1899 is over 33,000 miles in diameter! In comparison, Earth is 8,000 miles in diameter!!!

(click on image for larger version)

THE SUN: Nov. 19

Although this huge sunspot (#1899) looks powerful and menacing, it does not hold the potential for strong solar flares.

FM METEORS

These two plots show 2 meteors that were detected on my FM radio. It was tuned to 101.9 FM (KINK FM in Portland, OR). KINK is too far away for me to receive under normal conditions, but with an outdoor antenna pointed toward Portland and pointing upward at 30°, every once in a while when a meteor enters Earth's atmosphere between my location and Portland, the station will come in briefly.

The audio you hear is indicated by the spike on the left (plot).

COMET ISON: Nov. 16 (spaceweather.com)

COMET ISON UPDATE: Reports of naked-eye sightings of Comet ISON are coming in from around the world. Experienced observers put the comet's magntitude at +5.5 on Nov. 16th. This means it is now fully 10 times brighter than it was only three days ago before the outburst. To the naked eye, ISON appears as a faint smudge of pale green light low in the pre-dawn sky. The view through a telescope is more dramatic. The comet's tail has become a riotous crowd of gaseous streamers stretching more than 3.5 degrees across the sky. Amateur astronomer Waldemar Skorupa sends this picture from Kahler Asten, Germany:

 

 

The tail is so long, he couldn't fit the whole thing in the field of view. How long is it? Comet ISON's tail extends more than 8 million kilometers behind the comet's nucleus. For comparison, that's 21 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.

Because so much gas and dust is spewing from the comet's core, it is impossible to see clearly what caused Comet ISON's outburst on Nov. 13-14. One possibility is that fresh veins of ice are opening up in the comet's nucleus, vaporizing furiously as ISON approaches the sun. Another possibility is that the nucleus has completely fragmented.

"If so, it will still be several days before we know for sure," says Karl Battams, an astronomer with NASA's Comet ISON Observing Campaign. "When comet nuclei fall apart, it’s not like a shrapnel-laden explosion. Instead, the chunks slowly drift apart at slightly different speeds. Given that ISON’s nucleus is shrouded in such a tremendous volume of light-scattering dust and gas right now, it will be almost impossible to determine this for at least a few days and perhaps not until the comet reaches the field of view of NASA's STEREO HI-1A instrument on November 21, 2013. We will have to wait for the chunks to drift apart a sufficient distance, assuming they don't crumble first."

In short, no one knows for sure what is happening to Comet ISON. This could be the comet's death throes--or just the first of many brightening events the comet experiences as it plunges toward the sun for a close encounter on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28th).

Monitoring is encouraged. Comet ISON rises in the east just before the sun. Amateur astronomers, if you have a GOTO telescope, enter these coordinates. Dates of special interest include Nov. 17th and 18th when the comet will pass the bright star Spica, making ISON extra-easy to find. Sky maps: Nov. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.

CHANCE OF FLARES (spaceweather.com)

CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters have downgraded the chance of X-flares today to 15% as active sunspot AR1890 rotates off the Earthside of the sun. The chance of M-class flares, however, remains high at 60%. The likely source of any M-class eruption would be Earth-facing sunspot AR1897.

SUNSPOTS UPDATE: Nov. 11, 2013

Although sunspot region #1890 still holds the potential for strong flares, it is also beginning it's journey toward the western limb of the Sun, and any eruptions from that region will not be Earth-directed.

However, there are several more sunspots that have emerged from around the eastern limb. So far, these spots don't show evidence of strong flare activity, but who knows what the next few days will bring???

470.3125 Mhz and Solar Wind?

24-hour signal strength plot of 470.3125 Mhz.

Preliminary research seems to indicate that it correlates with the ACE Solar Wind Density Data for the same period.

470.3125 Mhz

This is a 1-minute audio segment, taken from a Uniden Bearcat hand-held scanner tuned to 470.3125 Mhz. It is part of a 2.5 hour period from 0800-1030 UTC on Nov. 9, 2013.
Included is my SpectrumLab plot as well as the Planetary K index for Nov. 9, 2013.
Can anyone tell me if this audio is a result of the aurora activity at that time? If not, what could I be picking up at that frequency? Thanks.

Jim Tegerdine
122W, 48N
jtegerdine@yahoo.com

ACTIVE REGION #1890 (spaceweatherlive.com)

This huge sunspot region (1890) actually consists of 59 individual sunspots. It is currently facing Earth and has been erupting with strong (but brief) solar flares. (click image for larger version)

BIG SUNSPOT FACES EARTH (spaceweather.com)

 

AR1890, one of the biggest sunspots of the current solar cycle, has turned almost directly toward Earth. This raises the possibility of geoeffective eruptions in the days ahead. NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares on Nov. 7th.

CHANCE OF FLARES (spaceweather.com)

CHANCE OF FLARES: Big sunspot AR1890 rotating over the sun's southeastern limb has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that habors energy for strong eruptions. NOAA forecasters estimate a 45% chance of M-class solar flares and a 10% chance of X-flares on Nov. 4th.

SUNSPOTS: Nov. 3

Sunspot #1884 still holds the potential for powerful X-class flares.

Keep an eye on #1890 as it makes it's way across the Sun in the days ahead....