Mid Day Sun

I was waiting for the sun and the forecast 50 degrees, in hopes of the sun melting some of the snow on my solar panels.   When I left the house to head to the gym, it was like 20 degrees and I could just tell from how thick the clouds were that it was going to be hard to find some sun.  Exiting the gym after running 6 miles on the treadmill, it was nice feeling the cool air.

Looking forward to the Giants vs. 49ers and knowing there is no soda, beer, or cheese doodles, Luke and I decided go to Stop and Shop.  It’s always fun shopping with Luke, who picks the apples, bananas, and a snack.  Today was a little different as he asked to pick up deli items, buffalo chicken, and roast beef.   He reminded me that mom wanted canned pears, and within 45 minutes the shopping was done and were back home getting ready for his soccer game.

Luke played today at an indoor field, KK Athletics where his team took a 3-0 win over an older Ronkonkoma team.  Since Kyle is still healing his knee, we got to have meatballs and spaghetti dinner and then settle in to watch some football.

This day in history “2000, Santana started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Supernatural', the album spent a total of nine weeks at No.1 during this year.”

Santana has always been one of my favorite guitarists, and I can play him pretty well on guitar hero.  I never got a chance to see Carlos Santana perform live, but with performers extending their careers, I hope to get to see him.  


Supernatural is what I can call the start of the Solar Flares that are forecast for this year.

HIGH-LATITUDE AURORAS: The Arctic Circle is alight with auroras following this morning's CME impact. Incoming reports fromRussia, Denmark, Scotland, England, and Norway confirm a bright apparition underway now. 


CME IMPACT: Arriving a little later than expected, a coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field at 0617 UT on Jan. 22nd. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the impact strongly compressed Earth's magnetic field and briefly exposed satellites in geosynchronous orbit to solar wind plasma. Shifting lines of magnetic force induced strong ground currents in Norway and sparked bright auroras over the upper reaches of North America. This colorful corona appeared over Chatanika, Alaska:


At their most intense, solar discharges, known as "coronal mass ejections," can disrupt satellites, radio communications and the power grid, and force airlines to reroute transcontinental flights that pass near the North Pole.

Solar activity can also generate dancing auroras, the northern and southern lights.

Spit out by the sun Thursday morning, the huge blob of charged gas spotted by NASA satellites is speeding toward Earth at more than 2 million mph. The most damaging solar discharges, which are very rare, can zoom at speeds more than twice that as fast.

I wonder if these CME also affect solar power production from solar panels ?  Some research is needed by me, as I don’t know if these plasma events increase the amount of protons, which are needed in photovoltaic systems.

I wish I could see the aurora, or northern lights.  Maybe one clear night this year, I will be able to see them in our sky.  


Giants win in overtime - Supernatural !!

Photo of the day “Mid Day Sun”