Four C flares were registered during the past 24 hours. The brightest one was a C1.5 flare released by NOAA AR 2139 with peak time 21:54 UT on August 15. In the next 48 hours, eruptive conditions (C flaring) are expected, with a slight chance for M flares (30%), especially from beta-gamma regions
NOAA AR 2144 and 2139. A large filament eruption took place near the central meridian around 16:54 UT on August 15, and an associated partial halo CME was observed in LASCO C2 starting around 18:00 UT. Preliminary analysis suggests an arrival time at Earth in the second half of August 19.Over the past 24 hours, solar wind speed as observed by ACE decreased from about 360 to 280 km/s, while the magnitude of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) varied between 2 and 4 nT. Over the past 24 hours, geomagnetic conditions were quiet (K Dourbes between 0 and 3; NOAA Kp between 0 and 2). Quiet geomagnetic levels (K Dourbes < 4) are expected on August 16, 17 and 18.
Equipment: Coronado 90 + Imaging Source DMK + LX75
Processing: Photoshop, Avistack 300 frames
Time UT: 16:00
Exposure 1/500 sec.
Image Credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / R. Margutti et al.
Last January, telescopes in observatories around planet Earth were eagerly used to watch the rise of SN 2014J, a bright supernova in nearby galaxy M82. Still, the most important observations may have been from orbit where the Chandra X-ray Observatory saw nothing. Identified as a Type Ia supernova, the explosion of SN2014J was thought to be triggered by the buildup of mass on a white dwarf star steadily accreting material from a companion star. That model predicts X-rays would be generated when the supernova blastwave struck the material left surrounding the white dwarf. But no X-rays were seen from the supernova. The mostly blank close-ups centered on the supernova’s position are shown in the before and after inset panels of Chandra’s false color X-ray image of the M82 galaxy. The stunning lack of X-rays from SN 2014J will require astronomers to explore other models to explain what triggers these cosmic explosions.
APOD NASA 16-Aug-14
The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop (radio source W78, or Sharpless 103), a large but relatively faint supernova remnant. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area roughly 3 degrees in diameter (about 6 times the diameter, or 36 times the area, of the full moon). The distance to the nebula is not precisely known, but Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) data supports a distance of about 1,470 light-years.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80 Pro Black-Diamond
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Lunatico EZG60
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5
Focal reducers: Orion 0.85x Reducer/Corrector
Software: PHD guiding, PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS, Bahtinov Grabber
Filters: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in
Dates: July 5, 2013
Locations: San Justo de la Vega
Frames: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 9×900″ ISO1600 9C
Integration: 2.2 hours
Author: Alberto Pisabarro
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 16 Aug 2014