MAGNETIC STORM: A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, sparking a mild (Kp=5) geomagnetic storm around the poles on April 12-13. In Europe, Northern Lights descended as far south as Ireland:
"The display burst into life for about 15 minutes around midnight, with shafts of light reaching skyward and visible lateral movement across the horizon," says photographer Daragh McDonough of Horn Head, Co. Donegal, Ireland. "I was very happy to have stayed out in the unseasonably cold April weather."
NOAA forecasters estimate a ~30% chance of more storms around the Arctic Circle during the next 24 hours as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: text, phone.
GROWING SUNSPOT: Almost directly facing Earth, sunspot AR1455 is growing rapidly. "This active region is becoming more interesting by the day and forms a nice group of sunspots now," says amateur astronomer Dennis Put who send this snapshot from Brielle, the Netherlands:
The picture, which he took using an H-alpha telescope tuned to the red glow of solar hydrogen, captures the maelstrom of hot plasma and magnetism swirling atop the sunspot group's underlying dark cores. If the region continues to grow it could soon become a source of C-class solar flare
Source; spaceweather.com
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