- In the past few days, our sun has begun emitting a number
of solar flares which can have an impact on any humans in space - like
the space station. If astronauts were in the shuttle when this happens,
they could easily receive a dangerous dose of radiation. NASA doesn't talk
about how many days astronauts have been confined to the radiation safe
area, since the space station went into operation. What is interesting,
is that these storms appear to have grown more severe over the past few
years.
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- I've included four images that show the massive activity
at both X-ray and magnetic energies. The following image was taken at 28.4nm
(lower X-ray spectrum.) It shows several of these flares taking place,
as of this writing August 24th, 2005. The sun rotates from the left toward
the right over several days, and these flares rotate with it towards the
earth. A large flare can also be seen on the left horizon below, as well
as a large one on the right horizon.
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- Below is a plot of the sun's magnetic activity over the
past 2 1/2 days. Here we see a recent massive negative spike in the magnetic
field, followed by a rising positive magnetic field:
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- http://www.n3kl.org/sun/images/noaa_mag_3d.gif?
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- The following is a plot of Kp Index. This planetary three-hour-range
Kp Index
was introduced by J. Bartels in 1949 and is derived from 13 magnetic observatories.
It is a method to measure solar particle radiation by its magnetic effects.
The mechanism of this disturbance is still not well understood. This author
has found that this is also a good indicator of how far south an Aurora
can be seen at night with the naked eye. Waves of faint, pink light have
been observed occasionally in dark cloudless skies of northern America.
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- http://www.n3kl.org/sun/images/noaa_kp_3d.gif?
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- Finally, below are the critical proton flux levels. These
are high energy, positive charged particles that are ejected super-heated
plasma from the sun. The red line is 10MEv (million electron volts), the
blue line is 50MEv and the green line is 100MEv. Any increase in proton
levels is very important to space station personnel.
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- As the equivalent MEv rises, more shielding is required
- and less time outside of the safe area is permitted for the astronauts.
Any significant solar flares can result in their confinement to a "safe
area" aboard the station for several days. During most solar events,
only the red line normally will raise slightly and sometimes with it, the
blue line. It is VERY rare for the green line to rise at all, and very
uncommon for it to rise this high even though solar max ended about two
years ago.
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- http://www.n3kl.org/sun/images/noaa_proton_G8_3d.gif?
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- Although it may appear the worst of the proton flux is
over for now, another massive flare is rotating toward earth. We'll keep
you informed on that one as it develops.
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- Ted Twietmeyer
- Be a part of global experiments by participating in the
non-profit research at www.data4science.net
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