Blog Archives - Ascension Now

SPRITE SEASON BEGINS:

31/3/2012

The first sprites of summer are starting to appear in the skies of North America. The strange thing is, summer is almost three months away. "Sprite season is beginning early this year," says Thomas Ashcraft, who photographed these specimens last night from his observatory in New Mexico.

"At precisely two minutes and twenty-six seconds after midnight March 30, 2012 there was an incredibly powerful bolt of lightning in the vicinity of Woodward, Oklahoma that spawned these red sprites," says Ashcraft. "I could see them from two states away!"

He also recorded VLF and shortwave radio emissions from the cluster, which you can hear as the soundtrack to this video.

Sprites are electrical discharges that come out of the top of thunderclouds, opposite ordinary lightning bolts which plunge toward Earth. Sprites can tower as high as 90 km above ground. That makes them a form of space weather as they overlap the zone of auroras, meteors, and noctilucent clouds. Because they are associated with lightning, sprites are most often seen in summer months, "but in the past few days sprites have been reported in Texas (particularly near the Mexican border) as well as here in New Mexico," notes Ashcraft.

So if there's lightning where you live, be alert for sprites. www.spaceweather.com

WHO'S AFRAID OF AN OLD SUNSPOT?

30/3/2012

Sunspot AR1429, the source of many strong flares and geomagnetic storms earlier this month, has returned, but it's no longer the behemoth it once was. After a two week transit around the backside of the sun, AR1429 has substantially decayed. All that's left is a few small dark cores scattered among some bright magnetic froth.

Even the corpse of AR1429 might still be potent, however. Just yesterday it produced a flurry of five C-class flares and sent waves of ionization rippling through the high atmosphere over Europe. Furthermore, NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of M-class flares during the next 24 hours.

Some activity from this diminished active region is certainly possible, but it is unlikely to be anything like the strong storms of early March. Stay tuned for updates. www.spaceweather.com

RETURN OF THE SUNSPOT:

29/3/2012

Sunspot AR1429, the source of many strong flares and geomagnetic storms earlier this month, is about to re-appear following a two-week trip around the backside of the sun. Magnetic loops towering over the sun's NE limb herald the sunspot's approach.

Earlier today, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed plumes of plasma rising and falling over the limb: movie. Moreover, a pair of solar flares (C5- and C7-class) in the sunspot's towering magnetic canopy caused waves of ionization to ripple through the high atmosphere over Europe. These events suggest the region is still active. Stay tuned.
www.spaceweather.com

IS IT SNOWING MICROBES ON ENCELADUS?

28/3/2012

There's a tiny moon orbiting beyond Saturn's rings that's full of promise, and maybe -- just maybe -- microbes. In a series of tantalizingly close flybys to the moon, named 'Enceladus', NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed watery jets erupting from what may be a vast underground sea. These jets, which spew through cracks in the moon's icy shell, could lead back to a habitable zone that is uniquely accessible in all the solar system.

"More than 90 jets of all sizes near Enceladus's south pole are spraying water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds all over the place," says Carolyn Porco, an award-winning planetary scientist and leader of the Imaging Science team for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. "Cassini has flown several times now through this spray and has tasted it. And we have found that aside from water and organic material, there is salt in the icy particles. The salinity is the same as that of Earth's oceans."

Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice from many locations near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

More than 30 individual jets of different sizes can be seen in this image captured during a flyby of NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 21, 2009.

Thermal measurements of Enceladus's fissures have revealed temperatures as high as -120 deg Fahrenheit (190 Kelvin). "If you add up all the heat, 16 gigawatts of thermal energy are coming out of those cracks," says Porco.

The watery plumes of Enceladus come from icy fissures nicknamed "tiger stripes." She believes the small moon, with its sub-surface liquid sea, organics, and an energy source, may host the same type of life we find in similar environments on Earth.

To read the whole article, go to http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/27mar_enceladus/

ANOTHER CME FROM SUNSPOT AR1429:

28/3/2012

Transiting the farside of the sun, never-say-die sunspot AR1429 erupted during the late hours of March 26th, producing its 11th major CME. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) photographed the cloud flying over the sun's eastern limb. According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit two spacecraft, STEREO-B and Spitzer, on March 28th. Earth is not in the line of fire.

This event shows that AR1429, the source of several strong geomagnetic storms in early March, is still active. It will begin turning back toward our planet about a week from now. Stay tuned. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% to 45% chance of strong geomagnetic storms around the poles on March 28-29 in response to an incoming solar wind stream.
w ww.spaceweather.com

ATREX EXPERIMENT LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT SKY:

28/3/2012

Before sunrise on March 27th, sky watchers up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States witnessed a strange apparition. A quintet of milky-white plumes appeared in the night sky, twisting in the winds at the edge of space. "It was pretty unreal and very exciting to see" says eye-witness Jack Fusco, who sends this picture from Seaside Park in New Jersey.

The plumes were chemical tracers (trimethyl aluminum) deposited in the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere by five rockets launched rapid-fire from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The goal of the experiment, named ATREX (Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment), is to study 3D turbulence in the thermosphere.

"We saw the rockets lift off and then slowly release their chemicals, creating trails in the sky" reports Alice B. of Loudoun County, Virginia. "We could also see what I assume were the rocket remnants falling back to Earth."

"Once the chemical tracers from the rockets were released, the view was amazing," adds Bryan Lauber of Frenchtown, NJ. "The tracers were extremely bright and seemed to just fall out of the sky!"
www.spaceweather.com

UPDATE : ATREX Sounding Rockets Launch - Delayed till Tuesday 27 March

25/3/2012

Next Launch Attempt : March 27
NASA has rescheduled the launch of five suborbital sounding rockets from the Wallops Facility to Tuesday, March 27, between midnight and 5am EDT.   In order for the launches to occur, clear skies are required at three special camera sites located along the mid-Atlantic coast in Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey.
Launch Viewing at Wallops
The launch window each night will vary but will open no earlier than 11 p.m. EST and close no later than 6:30 a.m. The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be open at least one hour before the opening of the daily launch window for viewing the mission by the public. Call 757-824-2298 to confirm opening time.
Launch Sequence PDF
Web Cast
The ATREX mission will be web cast beginning 2 hours before the opening of the launch window.
Visit http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast.
Date Range window : the ATREX launches will take place between March 14 and April 3, 2012.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex-launch.html

INCREDIBLE SUNSPOT AR1429:

24/3/2012

Big sunspot AR1429, the source of so many strong flares and geomagnetic storms earlier this month, is still erupting. The active region produced a significant coronal mass ejection on March 24th at 00:39 UT. Because of the sunspot's location on the far side of the sun, this particular CME will not hit Earth. An animated forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab shows the trajectory of the expanding cloud.
Visit www.spaceweather.com for animation.

The leading edge of the CME is expected to arrive at the STEREO-B spacecraft on March 25th at 13:08 UT (+/- 7 hours). None of the inner planets will be affected.

Since March began, sunspot AR1429 has propelled CMEs into every corner of the solar system, stirring up stormy space weather around every planet and spacecraft. If the sunspot remains active for another week or so, it will turn back toward Earth for a new round of geoeffective eruptions. Stay tuned. www.spaceweather.com

SUNSET SKY SHOW, AGAIN:

23/3/2012

A month ago, Venus, Jupiter and the crescent Moon aligned beautifully for evening sky watchers around the world. It's about to happen again. On March 24th, 25th and 26th, the trio will appear side by side in the western sky at sunset.

Observing tip: Catch them before the sky fades completely black. These bright objects are extra-beautiful when they are framed by twilight blue.

Sky maps: March 24, 25, 26.
www.spaceweather.com

SOLAR STORM HEATS UP EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE:

23/3/2012

A flurry of solar activity in early March dumped enough heat in Earth's upper atmosphere to power every residence in New York City for two years. The heat has since dissipated, but there's more to come as the solar cycle intensifies. “This was the biggest dose of heat we’ve received from a solar storm since 2005,” says Martin Mlynczak of NASA Langley Research Center. “It was a big event, and shows how solar activity can directly affect our planet.” The storm is over now, but Russell and Mlynczak expect more to come. “We’re just emerging from a deep solar minimum,” says Russell. “The solar cycle is gaining strength with a maximum expected in 2013.” [full story] [video]
www.spaceweather.com http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/22mar_saber/

NASA Jet Stream Study Will Light up The Night Sky: Friday 23 March 2012 - UPDATE

22/3/2012

MIDNIGHT ROCKET PLUMES - POSTPONED: Friday's launch of five rockets from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia has been postponed. New date: On Sunday, March 25th, between midnight and 3 am EDT, NASA plans a rapid-fire launch of five sounding rockets from Wallops. The rockets will deliver a chemical tracer to the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere, forming milky white plumes that reveal high-speed winds at the edge of space. The display should be visible to the naked eye from coastal areas between South Carolina and New Jersey. [full story] [updates]

On Friday 23 March 2012, between midnight and 3 a.m., NASA will launch five 'sounding rockets' in approximately five minutes to measure 200-300 mile-per-hour winds at the edge of space. This mission will trace these winds and study their intimate connection to the complicated electrical current patterns that surround Earth.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

High in the sky, 60 to 65 miles above Earth's surface, winds rush through a little understood region of Earth's atmosphere at speeds of 200 to 300 miles per hour. Lower than a typical satellite's orbit, higher than where most planes fly, this upper atmosphere jet stream makes a perfect target for a particular kind of scientific experiment: the sounding rocket. Some 35 to 40 feet long, sounding rockets shoot up into the sky for short journeys of eight to ten minutes, allowing scientists to probe difficult-to-reach layers of the atmosphere.

On 23 March, NASA will launch five such rockets in approximately five minutes to study these high-altitude winds and their intimate connection to the complicated electrical current patterns that surround Earth. First noticed in the 1960s, the winds in this jet stream shouldn't be confused with the lower jet stream located around 30,000 feet, through which passenger jets fly and which is reported in weather forecasts. This rocket experiment is designed to gain a better understanding of the high-altitude winds and help scientists better model the electromagnetic regions of space that can damage man-made satellites and disrupt communications systems. The experiment will also help explain how the effects of atmospheric disturbances in one part of the globe can be transported to other parts of the globe in a mere day or two.

"This area shows winds much larger than expected," says Miguel Larsen, a space scientist at Clemson University who is the principal investigator for these five rockets, known as the Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX).

"We don't yet know what we're going to see, but there is definitely something unusual going on. ATREX will help us understand the big question about what is driving these fast winds."

Determining what drives these winds requires precise understanding of the way the winds move and what kind of turbulence they show. To get an idea of the task at hand, imagine mapping not just the ups and downs of ocean waves but the attendant surf, undertow, and tides, all from 60 miles away and in only 20 minutes. To accomplish this, the five sounding rockets will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia releasing a chemical tracer into the air. The chemical – a substance called trimethyl aluminum (TMA) -- forms milky, white clouds that allow those on the ground to "see" the winds in space and track them with cameras. In addition, two of the rockets will have instrumented payloads to measure pressure and temperature in the atmosphere.

The rockets will be launched on a clear night within a period of minutes, so the trails can all be seen at the same time. The trimethyl aluminum will then be released in space out over the Atlantic Ocean at altitudes from 50 to 90 miles. The cloud tracers will last for up to 20 minutes and will be visible in the mid-Atlantic region, and along the east coast of the United States from parts of South Carolina to New Jersey.

You can read the rest of the story, with short video, here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex-nightlight.html
To try to spot the sounding rocket trails, follow the launch status updates at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex.html

ELECTRON STORM:

21/3/2012

The number of energetic electrons in Earth's outer radiation belt is significantly elevated. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the enhancement is caused by the aftermath of recent geomagnetic storms mixed with a high-speed solar wind stream. "Spacecraft at GEO, MEO and other orbits passing through or in the vicinity of the Earth's outer radiation belt can be impacted," they say.

FIRST DAY OF NORTHERN SPRING:

20/3/2012

The seasons are changing. Today, March 20th, the sun crossed the celestial equator heading north. This marks the beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere and Autumn in the southern hemisphere. At this time of year, day and night are of nearly equal length, hence the name "equinox" (equal night).

Spring is aurora season. For reasons not fully understood by researchers, the weeks around equinoxes are prone to Northern Lights. "With the exception of one cloudy night we have now seen the auroras 16 nights in a row," reports aurora tour guide Chad Blakley from the Abisko National Park in Sweden. "What a season!" He snapped this picture on March 19th. "I combined some of the photos to make a time-lapse movie," says Blakley. "It was another great night in Abisko!" http://spaceweather.com/

Palliative Nurse Shares The Top Five Life Regrets From Her Dying Patients

18/3/2012

It [death] is the only certainty we have in life, but when we get there, we would like to think we've accomplished all of our goals. Those goals change from decade to decade, but in the last 12 weeks of our lives, what really matters to us most is not sex, money, possessions or trips around the world. A nurse in palliative who has counseled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives.

Despite having no formal qualifications or experience, Bronnie Ware found herself working as a nurse in palliative care. Over the years she spent tending to the needs of those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed especially in the last 12 weeks of their lives. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse past, but by applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for people, if they make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

It is important to accept the fact that life itself is full of regret for so many people, but it doesn't have to be. Every single choice you have made in your life has led you to where you are today. You simply would not be who you are today without those choices, and whether you perceive them as good or bad, they have expanded the deepest levels of your being.

All that matters in life is who you are at this very moment.

Live life to the fullest...cherish your friends and family...follow your dreams and know that when you reach the end of your life, everything was how it was for a reason. Everything is how it should be.

Read the article in its entirety at Top Five Life Regrets From Dying Patients

Articles's author Michael Forrester is a spiritual counselor and is a practicing motivational speaker for corporations in Japan, Canada and the United States.

SUN : Unidentified Object? - now identified by NASA

13/3/2012

Uploaded by SunsFlare on 11 Mar 2012
[Note: also uploaded by several other people]
"I just came across something extremely curious. There is a black spherical anomaly the size of Jupiter on the south east limb of the sun. I have no idea what this may be."

Update uploaded by SunsFlare on 12 Mar 2012

Uploaded by www.thesuntoday.org on 13 Mar 2012
Video by Dr Alex Young, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre

On March 12, 2012 Sunsflare posted a video asking if anyone could identify a circular object seen in SDO coronal images. The video was also posted on Facebook with the same question posed.

I answered the question on facebook but here is a more detailed response and discussion of the observation. The object seen is a coronal cavity associated with a filament. There was also an eruption of the filament with a CME.

Thanks to NASA, ESA, SDO, SOHO, STEREO, Helioviewer, virtuallinda.com and Sunsflare!