[South Florida DX Association] Sunspot Surprise

[Bill Marx]

 Space Weather News for January 13, 2005
> http://spaceweather.com
>
> BIG SUNSPOT: In less than 48 hours, sunspot 720 has blossomed from an
> almost invisible speck into a dark behemoth 5 times wider than Earth.
> Solar activity could increase if this rapid growth continues.  Already the
> 'spot is big enough to see, but never stare at the sun.  Check
> spaceweather.com for safe solar observing tips.
>
> SATURN:  Today, Saturn is only 750 million miles from Earth--the closest
> we get to the ringed planet all year long. You can step outside tonight
> and see Saturn, easily, bright and golden in the eastern sky after sunset.
>
> TITAN HALOS:  Here on Earth, we sometimes see rings of light around the
> sun. These are called "sun halos" and they're caused by ice crystals in
> the air. When the Huygens probe descends through Titan's atmosphere on
> Jan. 14th--a big event!--the probe's cameras might see sun halos there,
> too.  Check spaceweather.com for details.
>
> SOLAR WIND:  Earth is inside a high-speed solar wind stream that is
> causing some mild geomagnetic storms.  Sky watchers in e.g. Alaska, Canada
> and Scandinavia should be alert for auroras tonight.