Solar activity. Space Weather News for Oct. 25, 2009. The sun is showing signs of life. Sunspot 1029 emerged over the weekend, and it is crackling with B- and C-class solar flares.  The active region's magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. If its growth continues apace, sunspot 1029 could soon become the biggest sunspot of 2009.  Check http://spaceweather.com for animations and updates. (Maurice F5NQL) 29 Oct. 2009

ConDX. Meteor Scatter: October 2009. Major shower of this month is Orionids. This shower has produced strong rates in 2006, 2007 and 2008, with lot of bright meteors. A 12-years periodicity in Orionids stronger returns, extrapolated from old observations, suggests that good Orionids rates are expected even in 2009. Have a look to shower predictions for October 2009 at our MS-Propagationpage: www.mmmonvhf.de/ms.php Massimo, IV3NDC, on behalf of the MMMonVHF Team ( MMMonVHF Newsletter 2009-10-02) 3 Oct. 2009

ConDX. Are Sunspots Disappearing? NASA September 3, 2009: The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot. The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting some observers to wonder, are sunspots disappearing? "Personally, I'm betting that sunspots are ... read the article at "SCIENCE@NASA" 4 Sep. 2009

ConDX. Upcoming Meteor showers, September 2009. Even if no big meteor showers hit the Earth in September, this month is still of interest for MS enthusiasts. Sporadic meteors flux is at its annual maximum in this period, thus providing relatively good rates especially during morning hours. Read more at our Prop.Page: http://www.mmmonvhf.de/ms.php (Massimo, IV3NDC via MMMonVHF Newsletter 2009-09-03) 4 Sep. 2009

Solar activity. NASA Science News for June 17, 2009. Where have all the sunspots gone? Scientists studying a jet stream deep inside the sun may have found the answer. Full story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17jun_jetstream.htm?list1073151 19 Jun. 2009

Solar activity. Solar flux has dropped below 68 during the last few days. The theoretical minimum is 67, but that is a normalized value. In July the Earth is furthest away from the Sun due to orbit ellipticity, and thus sometimes flux values between 63 - 64 have been recorded. (UKSMG ann.) 29 May 2009

Solar activity. New Solar Cycle Prediction: Fewer Sunspots http://www.physorg.com/news162653480.html http://www.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2-newsolarcycl.jpg (UKSMG ann.) 29 May 2009

Solar activity. NASA Science News for May 29, 2009. An international panel of experts has issued a new prediction for the solar cycle which takes into account the surprisingly deep solar minimum of 2008-2009. Read today's story to find out when they think solar maximum will return. Full story at; http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29may_noaaprediction.htm?list1073151  (MMMonVHF) 31 May 2009

Solar activity. Solar cycle 24 to peak in May 2013. An international panel of experts led by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center reports Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with 90 sunspots per day, averaged over a month. Excerpts from a report NOAA press release states, "If the prediction proves true, Solar Cycle 24 will be the weakest cycle since number 16, which peaked at 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since the 1750s, when numbered cycles began...... The panel also predicted that the lowest sunspot number between cycles-or solar minimum-occurred in December 2008, marking the end of Cycle 23 and the start of Cycle 24. If the December prediction holds up, at 12 years and seven months Solar Cycle 23 will be the longest since 1823 and the third longest since 1755. Solar cycles span 11 years on average, from minimum to minimum." Read this interesting report (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #908) 10 May 2009

Solar activity. 'Quiet Sun' baffling astronomers. There are no sunspots, very few solar flares - and our nearest star is the quietest it has been for a very long time. The observations are baffling astronomers, who are due to study new pictures of the Sun, taken from space, at the UK National Astronomy Meeting.
The Sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle of activity. At its peak, it has a tumultuous boiling atmosphere that spits out flares and planet-sized chunks of super-hot gas. This is followed by a calmer period. Last year, it was expected that it would have been hotting up after a quiet spell. But instead it hit a 50-year year low in solar wind pressure, a 55-year low in radio emissions, and a 100-year low in sunspot activity. According to Prof Louise Hara of University College London, it is unclear why this is happening or when the Sun is likely to become more active again. "There's no sign of us coming out of it yet," she told BBC News. (BBC News via UKSMG ann.) 21 Apr. 2009

ConDX/SolarActivity. Sporadic-E opening on 6m. Best estimated MUF=107 MHz above IN98 For details please visit http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Frec=50&Map=EU Dave, G8FXM (UKSMG ann.) 11 Apr. 2009

Solar activity. NASA Science News for April 1, 2009. How low can it go? The Sun is plunging into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Full story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/01apr_deepsolarminimum.htm?list1073151 3 Apr. 2009

ConDX/SolarActivity. On Wednesday February 12, 2009 yet another solar cycle 23 sunspot group formed, this time at approximately S06E52. It is numbered #11012 by NOAA/SWPC. Solar cycle 23 is now 12 years and 11 months long from first spot to present one, a further extension of the already record long solar cycle!!! SOURCE: NZ4O Propagation-List (MMMonVHF Newsletter 2009-02-13) 13 Feb. 2009

ConDX/SolarActivity. 2008 A SPOTLESS YEAR! Lee, KH6BZF/7J1AAP, propagation guru, informed OPDX that "We have experienced some very Sunspot lacking days during 2008." There were 272 spotless days out of the 366 days (Leap Year) or 74.37% of the year's days! August and December were the worst months with 31 and 28 spotless days, respectively. June and November were the best months with 19 and 15 spotless days, respectively. The rest of the months (of the year) were all in the twenties. (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #891) 16 Jan. 2009

ConDX/SolarActivity. NASA Science News for December 15, 2008. Solar flares are supposed to obliterate everything in their vicinity, yet one of the most powerful flares of the past 30 years has done just the opposite, emitting a beam of pure and unbroken hydrogen atoms. Researchers think this strange event could yield vital clues to the inner workings of solar flares. Full story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/15dec_solarflaresurprise.htm?list1073151 23 Dec. 2008

ConDX/SolarActivity. C Class Solar Flare & CME. On Friday December 12, 2008 fleeting sunspot group #11009 produced a C class solar flare before setting around the west limb of the Sun. This is the first C class solar flare since April 03, 2008. Also a filament eruption occurred in the northwest quadrant of the Sun beginning at approximately 0615 UTC. This produced a weak partially geo-effective (Earth facing) coronal mass ejection (CME) that "may" impact Earth's geomagnetic field in a minor way (Kp 3) on or about Monday December 15, 2008. 73 & GUD DX, Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF (MMMonVHF Newsletter 2008-12-16) 16 Dec. 2008 -

ConDX/SolarActivity. From NASA Page: After two-plus years of few sunspots, even fewer solar flares, and a generally eerie calm, the sun is finally showing signs of life! "I think solar minimum is behind us," says sunspot forecaster David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. His statement is prompted by an October flurry of sunspots. "Last month we counted five sunspot groups," he says. That may not sound like much, but in a year with record-low numbers of sunspots and long stretches of utter spotlessness, five is significant. This represents a real increase in solar activity. SOURCE: http://science.nasa.gov/default.htm (MMMonVHF Newsletter 2008-11-18) 18 Nov. 2008

ConDX/SolarActivity. Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 has become the "blankest year" of the Space Age. Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low, signifying a deep minimum in the 11-year cycle of solar activity. Full story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30sep_blankyear.htm?list1073151 (NASA Science News) 1 Oct. 2008