It's baaaaack!

Remember the monster sunspot that caused all the CME's and X-Ray flares a few weekends ago? You know, the mini-Carrington Event?

Well, guess who's coming back?

AR 3697 was the cause of the ruckus that weekend and is coming around for a second shot at things.

And AR 3691 is no small matter, either.  AR 3697 released a CME yesterday, but because of its position on the very edge of the SouthEast limb of the Sun, it's not headed in our direction.

It will be interesting few days - maybe we'll get a chance to see some aurora yet! As of this moment in time - 17:45 UTC on May 29th - the K index is 1 and the GeoMagnetic Field is very quiet. The Solar Flux Index is 166 and there are 131 freckles on the face of Ol' Sol. Band conditions should be decent. That could change in the days to come.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Weather outlook for Sunday

The weather outlook for the weekend is 50/50. You have to know that since FOBB is Sunday, the weather prognosticators are calling for Saturday to be the better weather day of the two. Of course, just my luck! And of course, as it's only Wednesday, all this could change between now and then.

So right now, we're looking at a hot and humid day with a chance of scattered thunderstorms pretty much the entire day. The lowest chance of rain being at start time. Higher chances before and after.  If that turns out to be the case, FOBB will be a backyard-under-the-patio-umbrella affair. I didn't sign up for a Bee number this year, so I'll  just be a 5 Watt station.

I still may try out the K4SWL "easy portable" antenna and just support it as a vertical using the Jackite. Or maybe I'll go with the PAR. We'll see. In any event, I'm still looking forward to it. As long as the day is not a total washout, it will still be a good time.

Speaking of weather - yesterday New Jersey was enveloped by atmospheric smoke from the wild fires out in the Northwest. The sun was a bright red rubber ball just hanging in the sky. It was dimmed to the point that you could plainly see the disc and look at it without hurting your eyes. Today we're expecting a cold front to come through bringing a little cooler, but much drier and cleaner air behind it. There was still smoke in the air this morning as I drove to work, but the sun was brighter and you could not look directly at it. I know they'd have to be GINORMOUSLY HUGE to be seen by the naked eye - but I could not detect any sunspots yesterday.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

This looks interesting!

 

Tracking Our Next Solar Cycle

The Sun goes through regular cycles of activity approximately every 11 years, and tracking these cycles is a key part of better understanding the Sun and mitigating its impacts on human technology and astronauts in space. Join scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a special episode of NASA Science Live on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. EDT as they discuss predictions for the upcoming solar cycle. The public can send questions during the event using #AskNASA on Twitter or by leaving a comment in the chat section on Facebook. If you have the time and are available, this looks like it may be well worth it. I will even try to listen in the background from work. 72 de Larry W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Late April's Fool Joke?

Or do we just take this with a grain of salt?

https://www.newsweek.com/sun-solar-cycle-this-month-1495930

This has been predicted for a long time now, but this is the first mention I've seen from the "secular press". With the way things are going in the world, I'm ready to take any glimmer of good news that I can get.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

"That ain't no sunspot, Mabel!"

"That's the International Space Station!"

Photo courtesy of NASA - no freckles on the sun as far as anyone can tell.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The Cookie Crumbled

I did my best to participate in the Cookie Crumble contest today. The only thing that I can say is that the Cookie was way past crumbling, it was darn near obliterated!

This wasn't due to anything wrong done by Emily WC3R or Tim W3ATB - they did everything right. The organization and prep work they do is outstanding. The Sun and the Propagation Princess just went on holiday, is all.

Technically, the contest is still going on for another hour, but I wrapped the station up. I was set up on the backyard patio table with the Jackite supporting the PAR ENDFEDZ. I made one contact in four hours and that was with Kevin KE3V in Erie, PA on 40 Meters. It was a tough go with an RST of 339 both ways - not good at all.

20 Meters yielded nothing. I heard some SKCC WES stations on the air, but even they were very weak and were hard copy. Someone needs to find out who it is, exactly, that is supplying the Sun with acne meds. We need sunspots!

I sure hope solar weather improves a bit for FOBB and the Skeeter Hunt.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

While we're on the topic of solar weather

I discovered an article on line from Newsweek:

https://www.newsweek.com/suns-solar-cycle-governed-alignment-planets-scientists-discover-1441753

I guess computer models allowed these scientists to do a little forensic orbital history investigation and see how the planets aligned during past sunspot cycle highs and lows,  and that they were able to gather data supporting their hypothesis. That is, until someone comes up with a new theory, no doubt!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!