Heliophysics, Solar flares etc.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Carl Sagan
Pale Blue Dot, 1994

Originally Posted by Fellowship

I have a recent new found interest in all things Heliophysics. I wanted to see if any here are interested in this subject and if you predict any solar maximum events which could disrupt our day to day lives in the near future.

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Great educational video to get you up to speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqKFQ7z0Nuk

The above link will take you to NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory website.

Also worth noting is the recent availability of the STEREO project which allows full imaging of the entire Sun both Earth side and Far side for a window of about the next 8 years.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/

If you pay attention to recent space weather we have had several recent flare activities.

March 7th being most recent. Take a look http://spaceweather.com/

Great video from this youtuber http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnJBTmaRURU

Fellowship

Originally Posted by BR

We lost this man far too soon.

Originally Posted by marcUK

hey BR, hows the teaching coming along?

Originally Posted by BR

Lots of stupid busywork so far in the credential classes, but I'm learning lots of cool stuff. Enjoying your eigenvectors and hamiltonians yet? *shudder*

Originally Posted by BR

The universe is pretty fucking amazing. I can't fathom what it's like to go through life thinking I have all the answers to the eternal questions. I feel like that would significantly sell the universe short.

I'm really glad you are taking this interest in science, Fellows.

Originally Posted by SDW2001

Unbelievable. Fellows posts a perfectly interesting thread and you use it to attack people of faith.

Originally Posted by Fellowship

marcUK I wanted to get back to you to say your photography is out of this world. Pardon the pun. And I am glad to see the seeming joy in your posts. I don't always remember you being this positive.. Don't take that as a jab but I have to say I am glad to see you around and sharing in this thread with the info you shared!

Nice to see you!

Fellows