Sun
3.5" Questar w/ Coronado ASP60
Ha
filter and
MX-916 CCD camera. 0.3 seconds (with neutral density "moon" filter).
VanCittert deconv (rad=2.5, iter=15)
Mosaic of 2 images.
2001/11/22 15:02:40 UT
The large sun spot with the large arcing filament appears to be the region that produced a large Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) at about 23:00 UT on 11/22 (Thanksgiving Day). Here's the synopsis issued by http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html:
A powerful solar flare that erupted on 22 November has produced a coronal mass ejection that is Earthward-bound. Its impact is expected during the early to mid UTC hours of 24 November. Auroral activity is expected to rapidly intensify following the arrival of the disturbance. Auroral activity may be observed across a wide range of middle latitude regions.
Click here to see the two raw images from which this masked composite was made.
Information about the CME as posted at http://www.spacew.com/cme/index.html#Event7:
Issued: 18:30 UTC, 23 November 2001
SOURCE EVENT
22 November 2001
M9.9/2B Flare in Active Region 9704 - S15 W34 at 23:29 UTC
Type II: Estimated 459 km/sec (see notes)
LASCO-derived Plane of Sky Velocity: estimated ~1300-1400 km/sec
ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OF SHOCK AT EARTH
Estimated Impact Window: 06:00 UTC on 24
November to 04:00 UTC on 24 November
Preferred Predicted Impact Time: 08:00 UTC, 24
November 2001
Estimated Shock Strength (0: Weakest, 9=Strongest): 7