Monday, January 6, 2014

BARREL Daily Update Jan 6th

For the first time in BARREL history, we have balloons up when there are over 200 sunspots on the Earthward facing side of the sun. Sure only a few are numbered, but our chances for a large geomagnetic storm from a CME have never been so good! Granted at the moment everything is very very quiet. 

There was a large flare which occurred from a sunspot which had rotated off the Earthward facing side of the Sun. It was thought to not be geoeffective although it has produced a CME. However something at about that time has affected all of our payloads and we have seen an increase of x-rays in all of our energy channels. It's quiet spectacular, and different at each of the payloads. 2I saw a large spike just prior to it seeing the increase in all four channels. 2K and 2W appear to see the event first, but 2X, which is closest to 2K in a geographic sense, doesn't appear to see the event until about half an hour later. 2K and 2X only saw a short event while the others are still seeing the precipitation (or at least as I'm writing this now at 9:27 EST). 2T, which is in the polar cap, sees this event. There are other differences between the payloads, the rise time, the actual rise, when the different energy channels start to see the event. It's very odd but very global. 

Ground Weather:
SANAE IV: 
Temp.: -17. C
Wind speed: 27 knots 

Halley 6: 
Temp.: -3.4 C
Wind speed: 2 knots 

Payloads up: Possible launch today from either site
SANAE IV: 2W, 2X
Halley 6:  2T, 2I, 2K

Payloads coming down:
none 

Collection times for EFW:  

2014-01-02 (pass quite a ways to the West of stations)
B: 00:30 - 02:00 (mlts from 15 - 14.9)

2013-01-02
A: 17:15-18:45 (MLTs 15-17)       Partial pass b/t stations
B: 14:00-15:30 (MLTs 11.6-13) Pass b/t stations
B: 17:40-19:40 (MLTs (14.5-16) Pass just west of stations

2013-01-03
A: 16:00-17:30 (MLTs 11.5-13) Pass to West of stations
A: 19:10-21:40 (MLTs 14-16.5)
B: 17:10-18:40 (MLTs 11.5-13)
B: 21:15-22:45 (MLTs 14.5-16)

2013-01-04 to 2013-01-05   Far to West pass
A: 18:50-20:20 (MLTs 11.3-12.8)
A: 22:50-00:20(jan5)   (MLTs 15-16)
B: 20:15-21:40 (MLTs 11.5-13)

2013-01-05      
A: 16:20-18:20 (MLTs 14.5-16.2)   pass b/t stations
B: 14:20-16:20 (MLTs 11.6-13.4)   pass b/t and West of stations
    18:00-20:00 (MLTs 14.3-16.3)

2013-01-06 (A just to West, B quite a ways to West)
A: 15:40-21:30   (6h 10m)
B: 17:30-19:30  (2h)
20:30-23:00 (2h 30m)

2013-01-07 (A quite west, B very west of stations)
A: 19:00-21:00  (2h)
22:30-23:59  (1h 30m)
B: 20:45-21:45  (1h)
00:45Jan8-02:00Jan8  (2h 15m)

TO BE CANCELLED:
2013-01-08 (A passes b/t stations, B just to West)
A: 17:30-18:30  (1h)
B: 14:30-16:30  (2h) Over Halley station
  18:00-20:00  (2h)
TO BE CANCELLED:
2013-01-09  (A just to West, B quite a ways to West)
A: 15:15-21:15  (6h)
B: 17:30-20:30 (3h)
21:00-23:00  (2hrs)


Halley Bay Search Coil Magnetometer :
very quiet. 

GOES Electron Flux:
Electron flux at GOES are still elevated but moderate  

GOES Proton Flux:
On the rise with NOAA leaving blank the maximum value reached. By my eye something close to 10^1.3, past the threshold for possible Satellite single event upsets. 

Space Weather from Spaceweather.com and SWPC.noaa.gov 
Solar wind speed: 364.9 km/s 
Solar proton density: 2.2 cm^(-3)  

Sun spot number: 225
NOAA has the likelihood of a M class flare at 75% and a 30% chance of an X class flare.  

Kp is quiet 
kp = 0 with a 24 max of kp = 1

Bz = 1.3 south
Btotal = 2.8 nT  

There is a coronal hole starting to come around. 

From Kyoto:
AE: very quiet

Dst: very quiet.    

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