Sunday, October 06, 2024

SPACE/COSMOS

Sky watchers expecting weekend aurora borealis show following huge solar flares




 NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a massive X9.0 solar flare, as seen in the bright flash in the center, on Thursday. Sky watchers were anticipating an intense aurora borealis display over the weekend as a result of the eruption. Photo by NASA/SDO

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Sky watchers across North America are anxiously anticipating what could be the most intense display of aurora borealis in decades this weekend in the wake of two major solar flares.

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, "may put on an exceptional display both Friday and Saturday nights, which could be visible across all of Canada and the northern United States," predicted The Weather Network, adding the weekend's display "could rival the best shows the northern lights have put on in decades."

That enthusiasm is based on a forecast issued Friday by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center calling for strong geomagnetic activity levels beginning early Friday evening and lasting until shortly before 12 a.m. EDT Saturday.

Then, following a brief lull, moderate geomagnetic activity levels will kick in throughout much of Saturday, during which auroras likely will be visible across Canada and as far south as Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois and Pennsylvania in the United States
"G1-G3 (Minor-Strong) geomagnetic storms likely over the next three days due to influences from the halo CMEs (coronal mass ejections) that left the Sun late on 01 Oct and midday on 03 Oct," space forecasters wrote, referring to a massive X9.0-class solar flare that erupted from the sun's surface on Thursday.

That colossal flare, which peaked at 8:18 a.m. EDT, was the biggest seen in seven years and the most powerful CME in the current 11-year sunspot cycle. It came from the same sunspot group as a smaller but still powerful flare on Tuesday, which measured X7.1.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy which can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

The charged ions they emit also are responsible for creating the aurora borealis when they interact with gases upon reaching Earth's magnetosphere, releasing energy in the form of light.

Artemis Student Challenges: NASA selects teams for launch, payload competitions


Oct. 4 (UPI) -- NASA announced the selection of 71 student teams that will build and launch amateur rockets and scientific payloads in a competition they hope will inspire the next generation of space explorers.

The 71 teams are divided into a college division and high-school/middle-school division.
The final on-site events will start April 30 with the final launches on May 3 at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala., just north of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The 25th annual Student Launch Challenge is one of NASA's Artemis Student Challenges, meant to encourage students in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.

"Each year, NASA updates the university payload challenge to reflect current scientific and exploration missions," NASA said in a statement. "For the 2025 season, the payload challenge will again take inspiration from the Artemis missions, which seeks to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon and pave the way for future human exploration of Mars."

NASA also selected 75 student teams to start an engineering design challenge to build rovers that will compete next spring in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near the Marshall Space Flight Center. It is also part of the Artemis Student Challenges.

Students from the 75 teams will present their engineering designs next year for piloting an astronaut-driven vehicle on the lunar surface while overcoming various obstacles.

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