PURPOSE
The purpose of this page is to keep our readers informed about
electromagnetic space events as well as geomagnetic storms within our
own planet.
The reason that this is important is because our 21st century day to
day life depends on electricity and magnetism manifested in one way or
another. Think of this as equivalent to living by the seashore of a
Caribbean country and having, as we all do, at our fingertips the
official, and continuously updated, hurricane reports
(1).
SUMMARIZED
The following triple graph reports on three key aspects (indexes) of
the
Solar Activity.
Even if you do not completely understand the technical details of the
three indexes reported in the graph that you may be visiting regularly,
we recommend....
- first, to get acquainted with it and
become familiar with the usual levels on most of the days; the usual
are
green levels, but there may be events ("storms") in different levels
(yellow/orange/red) at different times thrughout the year;
- second, that if one or more of the three indexes appear out
of the green level for a few days in a row, or if they jump to the
orange or
red level at any one day, do not become alarmed immediately. Instead,
compare the out of line
levels that caught your attention with the average frequency of
yellow/orange/red
peaks expected according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
at their
Reference
Tables.
For example, according to the NOAA
Reference
Tables, the "Geomagnetic Activity (Kp index)" happens to attain
peaks
in "G3" level, on the average,
12 days yearly. Therefore, it would only be alarming if, for example,
said "Kp
index" had peaks in
"G3" level five days in a row.
The current state of affairs....
If you are interested in a brief, but technical, explanation of the
details, you can read
the following section.
DETAILS
The following
graphs, also published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), individually report the same above-mentioned key
items but with greater details [please note that the color codes are
different
than those used in the triple graph above]:
Solar X-Ray Flux
(Flare Class)
Solar X-ray Flux is very important in
tracking solar flares. Large
X-ray bursts cause short wave fades. Solar flares can also
trigger geomagnetic storms which produce aurora and nice openings on
VHF.
A solar flare is a violent explosion in the Sun's atmosphere with an
energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. They produce
electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum at all
wavelengths from long-wave radio to the shortest wavelength Gamma rays.
Solar flares are classified as A, B, C, M or X according to the peak
flux. Each class has a peak flux ten times greater than the preceding
one. The more powerful ones
are M and X class flares and are often associated with a variety
of effects on the near-Earth space environment. Although the GOES
classification is commonly used to indicate the size of a flare, it is
only one measure.
Solar Proton Flux
A solar proton event, or "proton
storm", occurs when particles (mostly protons) emitted by the Sun
become accelerated either close to the Sun during a flare or in
interplanetary space by CME shocks.
When these protons arrive at Earth and enter the atmosphere over the
polar regions, much enhanced ionization is produced at altitudes below
100 km. Ionization at these low altitudes is particularly effective in
absorbing HF radio signals and can render HF communications
impossible throughout the polar regions. This effect is called Radio
Blackouts.
Geomagnetic Activity (Kp Index)
The Kp Index quantifies disturbances in
the horizontal component of
earth's magnetic field with an integer in the range 0–9 with 1 being
calm and 5 or more indicating a geomagnetic storm.
The principal users affected by geomagnetic storms are the electrical
power grid, spacecraft operations, users of radio signals that reflect
off of or pass through the ionosphere, and observers of the aurora.
Source of all graphic reports:
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)