Thu, May 20, 2021
A recent solar flare caused radio blackouts in the United States. The blackout suggests, correctly, that the United States is not adequately prepared for a coronal mass ejection directed at Earth. At particular risk are high orbit GPS satellites and there is no back up plan to deal with the loss of GPS tracking services. In other news; a near earth asteroid pass and recent fireball activity.
Mon, Jul 12, 2021
Weak regions in the Earth's magnetic field coupled with wandering of the magnetic poles are currently present. Such behavior is not unusual and may foretell a periodic reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles. But there is reason for concern as weak areas can allow high levels of dangerous cosmic rays to reach earth and the wandering poles may trigger climate change.
Fri, Jul 23, 2021
A coronal mass ejection on July 13 on the far side of the sun was detected on Earth. Scientists speculate that the CME was large enough that a shock wave through the sun caused a mass ejection on the side of the sun facing Earth though it was much weaker. In another story, soot from the massive western US wildfires has caused the sun to appear bright red in eastern states. Finally, several fireballs were observed during the week of Jul 15-22, 2021.
Sat, Aug 28, 2021
A class C3 solar flare erupted on August 26 2021. A solar tsunami, or Moreton wave, caused by the event was detected by the Solar Dynamic Observatory. A solar flare from another sunspot was also detected two days later. As of August 29 there has been no noticeable impact on Earth other than radio static.
Thu, Sep 16, 2021
Asteroid 2021 NY1, 1000 feet in diameter, approached Earth on September 21, 2021 within less than four times the distance to the moon. It was the largest near Earth asteroid of the month. Several much smaller asteroids approached Earth within the orbit of the moon in Septmeber. In other news, fireball detection have been increasing year over year for the past decade. Finally, an earthquake in Mexico caused light flashes.