Increased Auroral Activity Oct. 11-12 from a Halo CME Oct. 6, 2010

Around 3:30 UT on October 6, 2010 a filament erupted in the northeast part of the solar disk (upper left area).

Moving at around 375 km/s (850,000 miles per hour) the CME combined with the ambient solar wind then over Oct. 10-11, 2010 the earth experienced a glancing blow.

As a result, a minor geomagnetic storm is in progress.

Aurora observers at high latitudes should be on alert in the evenings of Oct. 11-12, 2010. (for information about viewing the aurora check out, http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Aurora/index.html)

  • The video below starts with the 304 Angstrom observations, first showing the upper 2/3 of the sun then zooming in on the NE section.
  • Next, the same 2/3 view is shown but with the 171 Angstrom telescope.
  • The video again zooms in but in the 171 wavelength. A loop like structure can be seen in the 171 moving up to the NE.

At 6:48 UT a CME was observed by the C2 LASCO coronagraph aboard the SOHO spacecraft.

The CME was a faint halo event and most likely due to the filament eruption. The CME was first observed by the C3 coronagraph at 9:42 UT. The video ends with the C2 and C3 observations.

(credit: SOHO, SDO and Kevin Schenk)