[SFDXA] Is the Sun spinning out of Control?

[Bill]

/From Tony N2MFT:/

*INCREASING CHANCE OF FLARES:*A new sunspot (AR3405) is emerging over 
the sun's northeastern limb, and it appears to pose a threat forM-class 
<https://spaceweather.com/glossary/flareclasses.html>solar flares. Just 
hours ago it produceda flare 
<https://spaceweather.com/images2023/14aug23/almostM.jpg>only percentage 
points below M-class. The same explosion hurleda bright CME 
<https://spaceweather.com/images2023/15aug23/nextstop_mercury.gif>into 
space. According toa NASA model 
<https://spaceweather.com/images2023/15aug23/nasamodel.gif>, the CME 
will hit Mercury sometime tomorrow.*Solar flare alerts:*SMS Text 
<https://spaceweatheralerts.com/>

*IS THE SUN SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL?*Ham radio operator Scott Tilley 
(VE7TIL) has been monitoring data from NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft 
sincehe 'hacked' the solar observatory 
<https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2023/08/15/ham-radio-operators-hack-a-nasa-spacecraft/>in 
July. A few days ago, images of the sun started spinning strangely:

<https://spaceweather.com/images2023/15aug23/spin304.gif>

"No, the sun is not spinning out of control," says Tilley. "This is a 
side-effect of the flyby."

STEREO-A is flying by Earth this week, coming home after a 17 year 
journey around the farside of the sun. For the past few days, the 
fast-approaching spacecraft has had to turn rapidly to keep its antennas 
pointed at our planet. The sun naturally appears to turn in the opposite 
direction.

At closest approach on*Aug. 17th*, STEREO-A will be only 0.05 AU away. 
"It's so close, the signal is now audible,"says Tilley. "I can hear it 
in the loudspeaker of my receiver (8443.580 MHz) using onlya 26-inch 
dish <https://spaceweather.com/images2023/03jul23/mld.jpg>antenna in my 
back yard. This is a unique time to play with STEREO-A."

Hams, would/you/like to monitor STEREO-A? A technical blog post 
published by Tilley explains exactlyhow to do it 
<https://skyriddles.wordpress.com/2023/07/03/stereo-a-comes-home/>.

SpaceWeather.com
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