WAVES OF IONIZATION

WAVES OF IONIZATION: Waves of ionization are rippling through Earth's upper atmosphere in response to the recent onslaught of solar flares. This affects the propagation of radio signals--suppressing some frequencies and boosting others. By monitoring distant transmitters at a frequency of 23.4 kHz, Rudolf Slosiar of Bojnice, Slovakia detected nearly a dozen sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs) on Feb. 18th:



"Each surge in signal strength corresponds to a specific solar flare," notes Slosiar. "Individual peaks exactly match events recorded by Earth-orbiting satellites."

More waves of ionization are iin the offing as sunspot complex 1161-1162 continues to crackle with M-class solar flares. The next SID could be over your backyard. Do-it-yourself SID monitors are available from Stanford University.

more SIDS: from Roberto Battaiola of Pantigliate, Milan, ITALY; from Jan Karlovsky of Hlohovec, Slovakia; from Rob Stammes of Laukvik, Norway.

CME SPARKS AURORAS: One and possibly two CMEs hit Earth during the early hours of Feb. 18th, creating a gusty solar wind environment around our planet and fueling a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm. During the storm-peak, auroras were visible over Canada despite interference from the full moon:



"The auroras were very colorful," reports photographer Sylvain Serre from Salluit, an Inuit village in Nunavik, Canada. "It was worth going out in the cold weather (-30 C) to see the show."

Although the storm has subsided, it could flare up again as the solar wind continues to swirl around Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.