[OKDXA] New Solar Cycle

[John Geiger]

I also thought that we really didn't know when a new
cycle started until 6 months or so after it started.

73s John AA5JG

--- Kim Elmore <cw_de_n5op at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> As I understand the solar cycle definition, 
> yes.  The next obvious questions are: Will Cycle 
> 24 be big or small? When will we see the peak? 
> How long will the peak last? When can we work 
> <pick the needed country or contries> on 10 m with
> 100 mW? :)
> 
> No one can say. Work what you can with skill and 
> understanding ;) Enjoy good conditions the low 
> bands because they won't stay real good once the
> cycle becomes active.
> 
> Kim N5OP
> 
> 
> At 02:47 PM 1/6/2008, you wrote:
> >Kim,
> >
> >Okay, but is it really the start of a new solar
> cycle?  ;-)  We are still
> >skeptical.
> >
> >Coy
> >--
> >Coy Day, N5OK
> >20685 SW 29
> >Union City, OK 73090
> >405-483-5632
> >
> >Kim Elmore wrote:
> > > Having read in replies here that there is a fair
> > > bit of confusion about what this says, along
> with
> > > some derision about why it's written the way it
> is, I looked it all up.
> > >
> > > Concerning the terms used (nomenclature),
> > > remember that discussions like this are usually
> > > intended for an audience that's pretty familiar
> > > with some of the details of the subject matter,
> > > much like a meteorological discussion like might
> be found here
> > >
> > > 
> >
>
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=OUN&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1
> > >
> > > The discussion above is intended for other
> > > meteorologists, but is also made available to
> the
> > > general public as a matter of course. What you
> > > see reported by Dave (which came from
> > > spaceweather.com, but was created in Boulder at
> a
> > > solar forecast lab there. It is a discussion
> > > intended primarily for geophysicists and other
> > > solar physicists, so it uses the terms of their
> discipline.
> > >
> > > As for the terms used, here goes:
> > >
> > > At 09:25 AM 1/5/2008, you wrote:
> > >>Here's more info:
> > >>
> > >>Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical
> Activity
> > >>SDF Number 004 Issued at 2200Z on 04 Jan 2008
> > >>
> > >>IA.  Analysis of Solar Active Regions and
> Activity from  03/2100Z
> > >>to 04/2100Z:  Solar activity was very low. 
> Region 980 (S06E29)
> > >
> > > These numbers identify the active region (active
> > > regions include sunspots among other solar
> > > phenomenon) with respect to an arbitrary
> > > numbering system started 5 January 1972. Active
> > > region 10000 was recorded on 14 June 2002.
> > > Because of the formatting conventions of this
> > > numbering system, they can receive only four
> > > numbers. Hence, region 10000 was referred to as
> > > region 0000. Sometimes, the preceding zero in
> > > understood, so in the case above, what we really
> have is region 10980.
> > >
> > > However, we see only the regions on the side of
> > > the sun that faces us, and the sun rotates about
> > > once every 27 days (the equator rotates faster
> > > than the polar regions). Each region receives a
> > > number as it appears on the limb of the visible
> > > disc, so its possible that the same region may
> > > survive an entire rotation. However, because we
> > > cannot follow it all the way around, and because
> > > these things change fairly rapidly, there's no
> > > way of knowing that it's the same region. Hence
> > > it receives a new number. Very long-lived
> regions
> > > can receive several different numbers.
> > >
> > > The location given for the region (S06E29) gives
> > > its location on the visible disc using
> > > heliographic latitude and longitude. This is a
> > > coordinate system that applies only to the
> > > visible disc, not the entire sun, unlike
> terrestrial longitude and
> > > latitude.
> > >
> > > How heliocentric longitude and latitude are
> > > determined (it's not trivial) is explained here
> > > http://www.petermeadows.com/html/location.html.
> > >
> > >>produced one low level B-class flare during the
> past 24 hours.
> > >
> > > Solar flares are classified as A, B, C, M or X
> > > according to the peak flux (in watts per square
> > > meter, W/sq meter) of 100 to 800 picometer
> X-rays
> > > near Earth, as measured on the GOES spacecraft.
> > > Each class has a peak flux ten times greater
> than
> > > the preceding one, with X class flares having a
> > > peak flux of order 10-4 W/sq meter. Within a
> > > class there is a linear scale from 1 to 9, so an
> > > X2 flare is twice as powerful as an X1 flare,
> and
> > > is four times more powerful than an M5 flare.
> > > Hence, a B-class flare has a peak X-ray flux of
> about 10-7 W/sq meter.
> > >
> > >>   The
> > >>region continued to decay and is now classified
> as a simple Axx
> > >>sunspot group.
> > >
> > > This classification method (the McIntosh Sunspot
> > > Group Classification) uses one capital letter
> and
> > > two lower case letters. A means that it is a
> > > unipolar sunspot group (only one magnetic
> > > polarity), the first x means that the spot has
> no
> > > penumbra (a lighter region surrounding the
> > > darkest area, called the umbra), and the second
> x
> > > is simply a place filler. This is the simplest
> kind of sunspot.
> > >
> > >>New Region 981 (N30E22) is classified as a Cso
> beta
> > >>sunspot group.
> > >
> > > This group (full number is 10981) appears 30 deg
> > > North of the equator (N30E22) and 22 deg East of
> > > the central meridian. New sunspot groups usually
> appear at mid-latitudes.
> > >
> > > C - Bipolar group with penumbra on one end of
> > > group, usually surrounding largest of leading
> umbra
> > > s - Small, symmetric penumbra, elliptical or
> > > circular and N-S size smaller than 2.5°.
> > > o - open - few, if any, spots between leader and
> follower spots.
> > >
> > > Beta comes form the Mount Wilson observatory
> > > magnetic classification system and may be
> > > somewhat redundant here. Beta means a sunspot
> > > group having both positive and negative magnetic
> > > polarities, with a simple and distinct division
> between the polarities.
> > >
> > >>This region is likely a new solar cycle sunspot
> > >>group.  A very faint backsided CME
> > >
> > > CME refers to a coronal mass ejection. A CME is
> > > an ejection of material from the solar corona,
> > > usually observed with a white-light images of
> the
> > > solar coronal, called a coronagraph. "Backside"
> > > refers to the trailing region of the sunspot
> group
> > >
> > >>  was observed on LASCO C2 imagery
> > >>at 4/1454Z.
> > >
> > > LACO refers to the Large Angle and Spectrometric
> > > Coronagraph Experiment. The C2 refers to the C2
> > > coronagraph, which images the corona from about
> 1.5 to 6 solar radii.
> > >
> > > There!  Now you know something about how to
> interpret these discussions.
> > >
> > > 73,
> > >
> > > Kim Elmore (N5OP)
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > OKDXA mailing list
> > > OKDXA at mailman.qth.net
> 
=== message truncated ===



      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ