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Geomagnetic Storm In Progress

Posted by Soulskill on from the sky-is-falling dept.

shogun writes "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports a strong geomagnetic storm is in progress. The shuttle, ISS and GPS systems may be affected." They think this storm was caused by a weak solar flare on April 3rd. As you may expect, this has caused some unusually impressive northern lights since it started. What you may not expect is a photograph from Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard the International Space Station showing the aurora from orbit. He apparently tweets a lot of pictures from space. He and his crewmates have taken over 100,000 pictures since coming aboard the ISS.

8 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Geomagnetic data on the storm by dtmos · · Score: 4, Informative

    NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has a bunch of data on the storm, including the estimated 3-hour Planetary Kp-index, and a bunch of other data and alerts.

    A readable description of the relationship between geomagnetic events and aurora can be found here.

  2. Yet another stereotype confifrmed. by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know, Soichi Noguchi, you are doing very little to dispel the classic stereotype of Japanese tourists always with a camera around their neck, taking pictures of everything!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Yet another stereotype confifrmed. by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Informative

      Heh. Prepare to be downmodded by the overly sensitive. He's a good egg. I saw him on NASA TV doing one of their endless lame daily interviews with schoolkids, and he answered the inevitable "What do you miss most?" question with "A hot shower and cold beer". Ya gotta love an honest answer instead of the usual astronaut-speak.

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  3. Best. Space pic. Ever. by The+Bad+Astronomer · · Score: 4, Informative

    FWIW, I posted on my blog about this amazing pic from Soichi, explaining it a bit and giving my thoughts.

    --
    *** Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer http://www.badastronomy.com
    1. Re:Best. Space pic. Ever. by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 4, Funny

      My <3 looks like an emoticon for mooning because my less than sign was removed.  Next time I'll preview.

      --
      "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
  4. Aurora Watch by cflange · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To watch the geomagnetic activity live, check AuroraWatch: http://corona-gw.phys.ualberta.ca/AuroraWatch/
    You can also subscribe to receive e-mail alerts about probable Northern Lights.
    From the website: "AuroraWatch forecasts are made by examining the behaviour of the Earth's magnetic field strength, which is measured by ground-based magnetometers."

    --
    Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my disk?
  5. In other news... by canada_dry · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... Toyota has issued a statement asking Prius owners to wrap their cars in tin foil before driving.

  6. Good idea by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tell him to just lean out of the window for a better shot. What could go wrong?

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.