BARREL Daily Update Jan 17th 2014

Hi all, 

2T, after ~22 days afloat, has been terminated. It was a pioneer of a payload, our first BARREL campaign balloon to have circumnavigate antarctica, the Robert Falcon Scott of our payloads if you will. Not only did 2T circumnavigate antarctica, but it it did a tour of our magnetosphere having traversed from closed to open and back to closed magnetic field lines. We believe it saw direct injections of relativistic electrons from the SW, along with a wide range of other activity. 2T is survived by it's sister payloads, 2X, 2Y, 2A, and 2L all currently up at float altitude. 

Things are very very quiet at the moment. However it looks like we have a coronal hole which may hit us on Jan 22nd and there are a number or numbered sunspots making their way back around. In particular sunspot 1936 is about to show on the Earthward side of the sun and has been crackling with c class flares. Very small flares, but we can hope that perhaps it will grow in complexity by the time it becomes geo-effective. This is likely after Jan 22nd. This is the active region which produced those large M-class flares on January 1st. Hopefully it hasn't died down too much on it's trip around the Sun. 

Ground Weather:

SANAE IV: 

Temp.: -7. C

Wind speed: 8 knots

Halley 6: 

Temp.: -2.6 C

Wind speed: 14 knots 

Payloads up: Possible launch today from either site

SANAE IV: 2X, 2Y, 2A

Halley 6:  2L

Payloads coming down:

2T Some are getting lowish but no news yet of another one coming down. 

Collection times for EFW:  

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)

2013-01-09  (A just to West, B quite a ways to West)

A: 15:15-21:15 (at 16k)  (6h)      

B: 17:30-20:30 (at 16k)  (3h)

     20:33-24:00 (at 4k)   (3.5hrs)

2013-01-10 (west of stations)

A: 18:00-01:00(jan11)

B: 20:00-03:00(jan11)

2013-01-11

B: 14:45-21:00

2013-01-12

A: 14:40-21:30

B: 17:00-24:00

Halley Bay Search Coil Magnetometer :

Not much to say, very quiet.

GOES Electron Flux:

The electron levels have stayed at moderate levels. 

GOES Proton Flux:

The proton levels are at moderate levels. 

Space Weather from Spaceweather.com and SWPC.noaa.gov 

Solar wind speed: 354.6 km/s 

Solar proton density: 2.0 cm^(-3)  

Sun spot number: 77

NOAA has the likelihood of a M class flare at 1% and a 1% chance of an X class flare.  

Kp is quiet 

kp =0 with a 24 max of kp = 1

Bz = 0.6 south

Btotal = 4.5 nT  

From Kyoto:

AE:  very quiet!

Dst: very very quiet.