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Hinode (Sunrise), a project to study the Sun, is exploring
the magnetic fields of the Sun, and is improving our understanding of the mechanisms that power the solar atmosphere and drive solar eruptions.
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At Last, A Numbered Spot!
July 19, 2008
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Although the Sun continues to be very quiet (see the gif movie below), a sunspot appeared on the disk July 17 and was numbered AR 11000 on July 19. On July 21, the active region is still observed, but it is in decay. Since June 15, X-ray flux (as seen by GOES 10) has been less than or equal to 10-8 Watts/m2. The image on the left above is a magnetogram from SOHO's MDI. The image on the right is from Hinode's X-ray Telescope (XRT). Based on the magnetic configuration, AR 1100 is not a new cycle sunspot (compare with AR 10993).
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More Quiet Time on the Sun
June 24 - July 8, 2008
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The movie above is a compilation of X-ray images from June 24 to July 8, 2008. The loops close to the equator on June 24-26 (to the right of the central meridian) are from old-cycle spots, NOAA active region 10999 (AR 10999). The Sun continues to show little activity and has produced only one B-class flare in the time period May 17 - July 11 (as seen by GOES ). For an explanation of flare classes, go to Space Weather's Classification of X-ray Solar Flares.
New cycle spots in the southern hemisphere will appear with positive polarity on the western (right) side of the sunspot. For new cycle spots in the northern hemisphere, the reverse is true (negative polarity to the west). Compare AR10999 with the southern hemisphere new cycle spot of 6 May, 2008. The solar surface (photosphere) has has had only two numbered spots June 11 - July 11, 2008 (see the Solar Monitor).
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