Fast Solar Wind Coming in Waves
This week fast solar wind comes in waves as we have multiple coronal holes rotating through the Earth-strike zone. The first coronal hole is sending us fast wind now and the next will send us a second wave in through the weekend. This means high latitudes will experience some decent aurora shows through week’s end and even mid-latitudes will get some fleeting chances. Sadly, the single sunspot on the Earth-facing disk is rotating to the Sun’s farside now and solar flux will likely drop into the low 70s. However, we should be able to hang on to marginal radio propagation on Earth’s dayside over the course of this week. GPS users should also enjoy good reception on Earth’s dayside, but GPS reception on earth’s nightside, especially near dawn or dusk and near aurora will be impacted. Learn the details of these waves of fast solar wind, how the SOHO/LASCO instrument is being impacted due to terrestrial weather and maintenance, and see what else our Sun has in store!
Credit TAMITHA SKOV