Northern Lights provide spectacular show over the Netherlands

DutchNews, February 27, 2023 

The Northern Lights, seen from Terschellling. Photo: ANP / Hollandse
Hoogte / Kappers Media

The Northern Lights, an atmospheric phenomenon rarely seen in the Netherlands, were visible over large parts of the country on Sunday night. 

Sightings were recorded in Drenthe, Groningen, Gelderland and Friesland as well as the Wadden Islands. 

The Northern Lights, or the aurora borealis which are created when energized particles from the sun slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at extremely high speeds. The Earth’s magnetic field redirects them to the North and South Pole, creating the waves of coloured light.

Nu met timelapse #noorderlicht pic.twitter.com/mSob9YHTSV

— Dick Tolsma (@tolsumadvies) February 26, 2023

Zojuist deze foto gemaakt op de dijk vlakbij Lauwersoog! @StormchaserNL @BuienRadarNL @Talpaweer @Weerplaza @weeronline #noorderlicht pic.twitter.com/TdXH2MI8My

— Weerstation Anjum (@Tim_Zijlstra1) February 26, 2023

Timelapse toont spectaculair noorderlicht boven Terschelling https://t.co/Ng8rRrqnAS

— NU.nl (@NUnl) February 27, 2023

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Solar storm heads Earth's way after double sun blasts

The Aurora Australis is observed from the International Space Station

During a geomagnetic storm on May 29, 2010 (AFP Photo)

Northern lights over Terschelling, Friesland. 27-28 February, 2014

'Monster' gamma ray burst in space sets record for death of star

Image provided by Nasa's Goddard

Space Flight Centre shows an artist's

 rendering of how a gamma ray burst

occurs. Photograph: AP 22 Nov 2013

THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAIA - April 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

"... Magnetics: Always a Player in The Shift

Many things are happening with the planet at the moment. The magnetics are changing as well. The magnetics of the solar system and the sun in particular, have an influence on your weather. How many sun spots have you seen lately? What do you think about the correlation of a sun that has very few, with your earth climate?  When can you remember that in your lifetime? What does it mean? I will tell you, dear Human Beings, that it's all related to what's happening on the earth. You may not understand the correlation, but I will tell you there is a profound one. What if [astronomy hint coming next], what if sun spots were created by gravitational and other interdimensional forces caused by the orbiting planets? Has there even been a correlation made between sun spots and the positions of the planets? Too weird? The invitation is there to see the correlations.

The sun is the fulcrum of the interdimensional gravitational pull attributes of the planets around it. There is information that is interdimensional – call it a gravitational patterning, if you wish – which the sun generates every moment of the day. As the planets push and pull on the fulcrum of the solar system [effect the sun through gravity], they affect the sun's attitude. These patterns are unique every day, and they intersect the magnetic field of the earth as they are blasted from the Sun in what you would call the solar wind.

The solar wind is a magnetic heliosphere, and has very multidimensional properties. This magnetic wind strikes the earth, intersecting with the magnetic field, and you can see it! You call it the Aurora Borealis. It's one giant magnetic field [the sun] intersecting another [the earth]. Science calls this intersecting phenomena inductance. In that intersecting energy, there is a transference of the informative patterning of the sun [at that moment] to the magnetic grid of the earth. Now, it's the magnetic grid of the planet that you sit in. All of life does.

Now we give you information we've given you before: The Merkabah. That is to say, your DNA imprint - the field around you - receives the magnetic grid's sun information, and the instructions within that field are passed right to the DNA, which is also magnetic. I have just given you the magnetic transmission chain that you think is esoteric. It's not. It's hard science. But to think that the interdimensional, magnetic and gravitational attributes of the solar system are going to your DNA is very esoteric. Some call it astrology. The truth is that it's for humanity, and also for Gaia! For remember that it is the earth that is part of the magnetic chain of information to your cellular structure [the Magnetic Grid]. It tells it when to do what it does. It's all related. So how related are you to Gaia? How much do you address this consciousness? ..."

"The Energy of the Future" (2) - Dec 7, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Akashic Acuity

So we have established that you are moving into this new radiation, and we have established that it intersects the sun. The sun blasts your magnetic field with it (via the solar wind) and the magnetic field talks to your DNA. Suddenly, there is the potential some of your DNA is being unlocked. The attributes of unlocking Akashic acuity will help you to remember who you've been. Now, with this remembrance comes energy - not about who you were, but rather it gives you the energy of what you did. I don't mean physically; I mean energetically and mentally. Old souls carry with them experience. When you look into the eyes of a child, you're going to see wisdom just waiting to break out. Dear ones, these children are different. They are not going to go through what you did! They have a whole new set of issues, and most of their issues are trying to navigate the old issues you create for them!

There's something we brought up in a former channelling called the wisdom factor. Now, the wisdom factor is caused by Akashic acuity. After living Human life over and over, you start remembering the wisdom that you have gained through these past lifetimes. You don't necessarily remember who you were, but rather the fact that you were at all and the experiences you had. Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing how to read? Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing not to touch something hot? Where did it come from? You're going to see more of this, and a feeling of "been there, done that".

Akashic acuity is remembrance of experience during past lifetimes. As the child grows, that remembrance becomes pure wisdom. As the child starts to awaken and the pineal opens, something else happens. The grid starts talking to the child through the DNA, and in the grid is also the information from the time capsules we spoke about in past channellings. The time capsules start feeding the planet with increased wisdom and knowledge. You don't have to reincarnate to awaken even further! Akashic acuity means suddenly Humans know more than other children have in the past - much more.

Fast Tracking

This is the plan, and it's a fast-track system, an energy system for planetary ascension. It's going to take a long time to implement, dear ones, but it's beginning right now. You're going to see marginal evidence of this beginning to happen in 2015, 2016, 2017. You're going to see it slightly in many places. These energies take a long time to mature, and they're not all going to happen fast and instantaneous. Some of you are going to be convinced that the world is going through a dark place and you're all going with it. This is because you don't see the changes for what they are, and you don't understand what is really happening. We've said it before, that when you shine a lot of light in a dark place, the things that were always in the dark object. That's what you're seeing now, and you'll see more of it. These dark things were always there, but they just didn't have the light on them that you're placing on them now.  …”

"The Weather" - Mar 1, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) 

Star quality: telescope captures Sun in greatest detail ever

Yahoo – AFP, Ivan Couronne, January 31, 2020

'Boiling' plasma that covers the Sun is seen in the highest-ever resolution images
of the star, taken by the new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (AFP Photo/HO)

Washington (AFP) - A huge telescope built on the peak of a Hawaiian island has produced pictures of the Sun's surface in unprecedented detail, revealing boiling plasma cells the size of Texas.

For the telescope's director, that's only just the beginning.

The Sun is a giant ball of plasma (electrified gas) that has been observed from Earth for centuries from telescopes, and via satellites for decades.

But the resolution has been limited: the Japanese space telescope Hinotori had a mirror of 20 inches (50 centimeters).

The new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on the island of Maui has a 13-foot (four meters) mirror, the world's largest for a solar telescope.

"These images have the highest resolution that you've ever seen," said Thomas Rimmele, the telescope's director.

"We now see structures that we suspected would be there, based on computer models, but we never had the resolution to really see them," added the 60-year-old German astronomer.

Images first published Wednesday show a pattern of boiling plasma covering the Sun in cell-like structures. These are the result of violent motions transporting heat from the star's interior to its surface.

The hot plasma rises in the bright center of the cells, cools and then sinks below the surface in a process called convection.

The telescope came online on December 10 after nine years of construction.

Hot plasma rises in the bright center of the cells, cools and then sinks below the 

surface in a process called convection (AFP Photo/HO)

"It was a really emotional moment, I was really happy," said Rimmele, who joined the project 25 years ago before eventually becoming its director. "It's my life's work."

Since the telescope focuses sunlight over a small area, it produces an enormous amount of heat.

"It gets really hot there, you can put metal there and it melts within a very short time," said Rimmele.

Corona and sunspots

It will take six more months to install additional scientific instruments and make the telescope fully operational.

Ultimately, the goal is to measure the magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere, and in particular in its corona, its outermost area that can be distinguished during an eclipse.

The magnetic fields govern solar flares that can affect air travel, disrupt satellite communications as well as bring down power grids and disable GPS, a relatively common event.

Mapping the Sun will thus help scientists deepen their understanding of these magnetic fields that regulate space weather, allowing us to anticipate storms and turn off sensitive equipment ahead of time.

The telescope has launched at an exciting time for astronomers: the Sun is about to enter a new 11-year cycle, in which it will start to produce new sunspots.

It is currently at the low ebb of its cycle and no spots are visible.

"That is the goal, to publish a close up image, highest resolution image ever of a sunspot," said Rimmele.

Why solar observatory's mysterious closure sparked talk of aliens

Seti.org, By Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, Sep 21, 2018

Mysterious goings-on at a New Mexico solar observatory have been hot news. Had astronomers found a lethal solar flare, or even signs of alien life?

Why do some people think the government is covering up evidence of space aliens?
Chris Clor / Getty Images/Blend Images

Out-of-this-world explanations got lots of traction when New Mexico facility suddenly shut down.

For the past two weeks, mysterious goings-on at a New Mexico solar observatory have been hot news. On Sept. 6, the Sunspot facility on Sacramento Peak in the southern part of the state was strung with yellow tape, and employees were sent home. This set off alarm bells across the Internet: Had astronomers found a lethal solar flare, or even signs of alien life? And was there a government cover-up?

After days of rampant speculation, authorities finally fessed up and explained the situation as a “security issue.” They offered scant details but indicated that there had been a threat to people on the peak and that secrecy was necessary.

Now the scare is over, all systems are “go” and the observatory is back in business. A nonstory, in other words. Except that there is something to ponder here.

Why did the fantastic explanations for the hush-up get so much traction? A dangerous event on the sun — such as a coronal mass ejection that might disable satellites or disrupt the electric grid — could be quickly ruled out. There are dozens of solar observatories around the world, and all would have seen something and said something.

But aliens … well, that might make more sense. At least to the large fraction of the populace who believe the government is covering up evidence of extraterrestrial life. A 2012 National Geographic poll found that nearly 80 percent of Americans think that the government is hiding information about the presence of aliens.

The Sac Peak story fed into these beliefs, and offered a perfect storm of shadowy circumstances. To begin with, an observatory seems to have a direct connection to aliens because telescopes scrutinize the sky — where extraterrestrials hang out when they’re not spiriting folks out of suburban bedrooms. And Sac Peak is only 105 air miles from the tiny town of Corona (northwest of Roswell) where — according to UFO lore — alien aviators purportedly ditched their flying saucer seven decades ago. To add suspicion to intrigue, Sac Peak’s work has been supported by government money, which to some makes it simultaneously suspect and malevolent.

So of course it could be aliens.

But why are the public, and even the media, so often drawn to this explanation for just about anything related to space? Americans seem prone to believe that tens of thousands of bureaucrats (or scientists, such as those working for NASA) could be corralled into making hugely important discoveries and keeping them secret. After all, it happens on TV all the time.

For its part, our government does often act covertly. There was that five-year Pentagon UFO study revealed last December, for instance. And in the case of the Sac Peak closure, it does seem strange that authorities would say secrecy was necessary. The endless news stories about the observatory would be tip-off enough to any per perpetrator.

When it comes to possible research cover-ups, I’m relentlessly skeptical. I know from decades of experience that science is open: It operates by demanding confirmation and making results public. “Publish or perish” may be a cliché, but it is nonetheless true. If you, as a scientist, keep your work secret, you’ll soon be seeking another line of work.

Whatever happened at Sac Peak has yet to be explained. Aliens, to me, are highly unlikely to be part of the story. But in America, whenever the facts remain obscure you can always count on fevered imaginations to offer up their own unsteady illumination.

This article originally appeared on nbcnews.com

Related Articles:

NASA captures images of strong solar flares

Solar storm heads Earth's way after double sun blasts

The Federation of Light as channelled by Blossom Goodchild Sep 22, 2018 - New

"Effect of the New Energy on DNA" + "One Foot in Each Energy" (3) - Aug 1-2, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

"... The Role of the Sun

As you move into this new energy, or what some have even called "radiation", you should know how it works, for it's very related to your Sun. Physically, it affects the magnetic field of the Sun (the heliosphere), which then in turn is blasted to your own magnetic field via the solar wind. That's the physics of it, but dear one, let me give you the esoterics of it. This has been the plan all along, that if you made it as a Human race past the 2012 marker, you would pass into this area of space and the magnetics would shift, allowing Human consciousness to change. Dear ones, this was always here waiting for you to pass the marker! This is why I came 26 years ago and told you the magnetics would shift. This is an evolutionary energy that is going to affect your Sun - the heliosphere of your Sun - which then will pass to the magnetic field of the earth, a field that has now been repostured for this new consciousness.

Oh, there are those intellectuals who would say, "Well, what if we had destroyed ourselves as the prophecies said we would? What if there were no Humans to receive this?" It's simple. No Humans would have been here, but the planet would have still moved into this new area of space and the same energies would have been there, but you would not have been. Simple. But indeed, here you are!

So now you can see that the prophecy from the indigenous is also being fulfilled, for they told you about the changes coming after the precession of the equinoxes (December 2012). How could they have had this prophecy about your movement into a new place around your galaxy? Think about it! These things are not new, and even the ancients told you it was coming! They may not have known the specifics of science, but their prophecy is the same one I have: New consciousness is coming.

Dear ones, I want you to continue to put together these pieces physically in what you can see. As we told you, these changes affect your Sun. The heliosphere of your Sun changes you magnetic grid. Now, for this all to work, the Sun had to be quiet for this. I want you to ask an astronomer about the Sun and the cycles of the Sun. Ask about what period of radiance the Sun is in at the moment. The astronomer will tell you that it appears to be one of the quietest cycles that the Sun has ever seen. Solar flares and sunspots are disturbances in the multidimensional field that surrounds the Sun, so these had to be gone while the new energies were starting to be implemented. For this all to work, the Sun had to be as quiet as possible, and it is. The Sun's quiet time is also affecting your weather, and we told you that, too. Due to its quietness, you're in a cycle of weather that we also predicted [a cold time coming] that also has a lot to do with the energy that's coming. That's physical. Ask an astronomer, “Are they worried about all this?” Some of them are and others are not. But it is affecting you and the planet right now. Now you know why the magnetic grid was changed when it was changed and why. That's physical. .."

THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAIA - April 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

"... Magnetics: Always a Player in The Shift

Many things are happening with the planet at the moment. The magnetics are changing as well. The magnetics of the solar system and the sun in particular, have an influence on your weather. How many sun spots have you seen lately? What do you think about the correlation of a sun that has very few, with your earth climate?  When can you remember that in your lifetime? What does it mean? I will tell you, dear Human Beings, that it's all related to what's happening on the earth. You may not understand the correlation, but I will tell you there is a profound one. What if [astronomy hint coming next], what if sun spots were created by gravitational and other interdimensional forces caused by the orbiting planets? Has there even been a correlation made between sun spots and the positions of the planets? Too weird? The invitation is there to see the correlations.

The sun is the fulcrum of the interdimensional gravitational pull attributes of the planets around it. There is information that is interdimensional – call it a gravitational patterning, if you wish – which the sun generates every moment of the day. As the planets push and pull on the fulcrum of the solar system [effect the sun through gravity], they affect the sun's attitude. These patterns are unique every day, and they intersect the magnetic field of the earth as they are blasted from the Sun in what you would call the solar wind.

The solar wind is a magnetic heliosphere, and has very multidimensional properties. This magnetic wind strikes the earth, intersecting with the magnetic field, and you can see it! You call it the Aurora Borealis. It's one giant magnetic field [the sun] intersecting another [the earth]. Science calls this intersecting phenomena inductance. In that intersecting energy, there is a transference of the informative patterning of the sun [at that moment] to the magnetic grid of the earth. Now, it's the magnetic grid of the planet that you sit in. All of life does.

Now we give you information we've given you before: The Merkabah. That is to say, your DNA imprint - the field around you - receives the magnetic grid's sun information, and the instructions within that field are passed right to the DNA, which is also magnetic. I have just given you the magnetic transmission chain that you think is esoteric. It's not. It's hard science. But to think that the interdimensional, magnetic and gravitational attributes of the solar system are going to your DNA is very esoteric. Some call it astrology. The truth is that it's for humanity, and also for Gaia! For remember that it is the earth that is part of the magnetic chain of information to your cellular structure [the Magnetic Grid]. It tells it when to do what it does. It's all related. So how related are you to Gaia? How much do you address this consciousness? ..."

"The Energy of the Future" (2) - Dec 7, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Akashic Acuity

So we have established that you are moving into this new radiation, and we have established that it intersects the sun. The sun blasts your magnetic field with it (via the solar wind) and the magnetic field talks to your DNA. Suddenly, there is the potential some of your DNA is being unlocked. The attributes of unlocking Akashic acuity will help you to remember who you've been. Now, with this remembrance comes energy - not about who you were, but rather it gives you the energy of what you did. I don't mean physically; I mean energetically and mentally. Old souls carry with them experience. When you look into the eyes of a child, you're going to see wisdom just waiting to break out. Dear ones, these children are different. They are not going to go through what you did! They have a whole new set of issues, and most of their issues are trying to navigate the old issues you create for them!

There's something we brought up in a former channelling called the wisdom factor. Now, the wisdom factor is caused by Akashic acuity. After living Human life over and over, you start remembering the wisdom that you have gained through these past lifetimes. You don't necessarily remember who you were, but rather the fact that you were at all and the experiences you had. Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing how to read? Imagine a child coming into the planet knowing not to touch something hot? Where did it come from? You're going to see more of this, and a feeling of "been there, done that".

Akashic acuity is remembrance of experience during past lifetimes. As the child grows, that remembrance becomes pure wisdom. As the child starts to awaken and the pineal opens, something else happens. The grid starts talking to the child through the DNA, and in the grid is also the information from the time capsules we spoke about in past channellings. The time capsules start feeding the planet with increased wisdom and knowledge. You don't have to reincarnate to awaken even further! Akashic acuity means suddenly Humans know more than other children have in the past - much more.

Fast Tracking

This is the plan, and it's a fast-track system, an energy system for planetary ascension. It's going to take a long time to implement, dear ones, but it's beginning right now. You're going to see marginal evidence of this beginning to happen in 2015, 2016, 2017. You're going to see it slightly in many places. These energies take a long time to mature, and they're not all going to happen fast and instantaneous. Some of you are going to be convinced that the world is going through a dark place and you're all going with it. This is because you don't see the changes for what they are, and you don't understand what is really happening. We've said it before, that when you shine a lot of light in a dark place, the things that were always in the dark object. That's what you're seeing now, and you'll see more of it. These dark things were always there, but they just didn't have the light on them that you're placing on them now.  …”

Trappist planets have water, may be 'habitable': researchers

Yahoo – AFP, 5 February 2018

The European Southern Observatory shows the TRAPPIST-1 system in order of
increasing distance from their host star, surfaces portrayed with an artist’s impression of
potential surface features, including water -- whose presence might make them "habitable

Seven planets recently spotted orbiting a dim star in our Milky Way galaxy are rocky, seem to have water, and are potentially "habitable", researchers studying the distant system said Monday.

Though much remains unknown about the planets' surfaces and atmospheres, the new measurements have not ruled out the possibility that they may harbour even rudimentary life, the scientists reported.

"So far, no sign allows us to say that they are not habitable," said University of Birmingham astronomer Amaury Triaud, the co-author of a study on the subject.

"All the traffic lights we have passed so far are green."

Research teams gleaned more information about the dwarf star at the centre of the Trappist-1 system, as well as improved measurements of the size and mass of each planet, and the composition of their atmospheres.

All seven are mostly made of rock, with up to five percent of their mass in water -- though it may be in the form of gas or ice, or trapped deep inside the rocky orbs, researchers said.

On Earth, the oceans account for about 0.02 percent of our planet's mass.

A year ago, researchers announced the discovery of the seven Earth-like planets orbiting Trappist-1, an "ultracool" red dwarf star some 39 light years from our home.

As for the odds of the planets hosting organic life forms, "we cannot say at this stage, as they are vastly different from the only planet we know to harbour life (Earth)," Triaud told AFP.

"But they have suitable characteristics and are to date the best place beyond the edge of our (Solar) system to search."

The presence of liquid water is considered essential for life to exist anywhere.

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to learn more about the Trappist system by studying the planets' atmospheres as they passed in front of their star, appearing as a dark, travelling dot from the observer's point of view.

Findings were published Monday in two papers in the journals Nature Astronomy, and Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Cooler than the Sun

All seven planets were considered potential candidates for harbouring water, but the chances to find it in liquid form are highest in the temperate "Goldilocks" zone -- not too far from the star for it to be frozen, nor too close to evaporate.

The Trappist-1 system is considered the current best hope for finding evidence of alien life.

"When we combine our new masses with our improved radii measurements, and our improved knowledge of the star, we obtain precise densities for each of the seven worlds, and reach information on their internal composition," said Triaud.

"All seven planets remarkably resemble Mercury, Venus, our Earth, it's Moon, and Mars."

An artist’s impression shows an imagined view from the surface of a planet orbiting an
 ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth discovered using the TRAPPIST telescope
at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile

According to study co-author Simon Grimm from the University of Bern, the third and fourth planets from the star are "the most likely" to host some form of life.

"The more we learn about these planets, the more habitable they seem to be," Grimm told AFP by email.

Compared to our Solar System, the Trappist-1 family is very tightly-knit. With orbits ranging from 1.5 to 12 days, the planets would have fit comfortably in the distance between the Sun and its closest planet, Mercury.

Trappist-1 has a mass less than 10 percent the mass of our Sun and is much cooler, which explains why its planets can orbit so nearby.

Champagne box-sized satellite to probe distant planet

Yahoo – AFP, 11 January 2018

Champagne box-sized satellite to probe distant planet

Paris (AFP) - France is set to launch a champagne box-sized mini satellite into Earth orbit on Friday to study a mysterious, juvenile planet system in our Milky Way galaxy, mission controllers said.

The PicSat orbiter's target is the massive star Beta Pictoris, some 60 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Pictor (The Painter's Easel), and its planet Beta Pictoris b -- a gassy giant.

Built at the Paris Observatory's LESIA laboratory, with European backing, PicSat is due to be launched in the early-morning hours of Friday on an Indian PSLV rocket.

It will orbit our planet at an altitude of some 500 kilometres (310 miles), hoping to learn more about Beta Pictoris b by observing the next time it transits its host star, appearing as a dot on the bright surface as seen from Earth's perspective.

This once-in-18-year transit is expected some time in 2018, mission leader Sylvestre Lacour, an astrophysicist at France's CNRS research institute, told AFP.

"We are not 100-percent sure that the transit will happen" during PicSat's one-year lifetime, he said, as "the orbit of Beta Pictoris b is not well-known."

If not, "we will observe other, secondary objects orbiting the star."

By measuring how much light a planet blocks out as it transits its star, astronomers can glean details about its size and the composition of its atmosphere.

PicSat measures 10x10x30 centimetres (4x4x12 inches), "the size of a champagne box", said Lacour.

Planet in a spin

It comes equipped with a telescope for fact-gathering, and solar panels to power all its systems. Weighing in at 3.5 kilogrammes (7.7 pounds), the satellite's power consumption is a mere 5 W, similar to that of an economical light bulb.

Discovered in 1984, Beta Pictoris has a mass about 1.8 times that of our Sun.

It is young in astronomical terms -- only about 20 million years old compared to the Sun's 4.5 billion years.

It is surrounded by a huge disc of gas and dust -- the materials from which planets, asteroids and comets are formed -- making it an ideal subject for studying the mechanism by which solar systems evolve.

Beta Pictoris b is about 16 times larger and 3,000 times more massive than Earth, with days lasting about eight hours. It orbits its star at a distance eight times that of Earth to the Sun.

In 2014, scientists said it spins at a breakneck speed of some 25 kilometres per second (90,000 kph or 56,000 miles per hour).

NASA captures images of strong solar flares

Yahoo – AFP, September 7, 2017

This animation shows both the X2.2 and the X9.3 flares that the Sun emitted on Sept. 6, 2017

Two high-intensity solar flares were emitted Wednesday, the second of which was the most intense recorded since the start of this sun cycle in December 2008, NASA said.

These radiation flares, which can disrupt communications satellites, GPS and power grids by reaching the upper Earth atmosphere, were detected and captured by the US Space Agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), these so-called category X eruptions disrupted high-frequency radio communications for one hour on the Earth's side facing the sun and low-frequency communications used in navigation.

The two eruptions occurred in an active region of the sun where an eruption of average intensity occurred on September 4. The current cycle of the sun, which began in December 2008, saw the intensity of solar activity decline sharply, opening the way to the "solar minimum."

Solar cycles last on average eleven years. At the end of the active phase, these eruptions become increasingly rare but still can be powerful. 

Solar storms result from an accumulation of magnetic energy in some places.

These jets of ionized matter are projected -- at high speed into and beyond the crown of the sun -- hundreds of thousands of kilometers outward.

Related Article:

"Effect of the New Energy on DNA" + "One Foot in Each Energy" (3) - Aug 1-2, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

"... The Role of the Sun

As you move into this new energy, or what some have even called "radiation", you should know how it works, for it's very related to your Sun. Physically, it affects the magnetic field of the Sun (the heliosphere), which then in turn is blasted to your own magnetic field via the solar wind. That's the physics of it, but dear one, let me give you the esoterics of it. This has been the plan all along, that if you made it as a Human race past the 2012 marker, you would pass into this area of space and the magnetics would shift, allowing Human consciousness to change. Dear ones, this was always here waiting for you to pass the marker! This is why I came 26 years ago and told you the magnetics would shift. This is an evolutionary energy that is going to affect your Sun - the heliosphere of your Sun - which then will pass to the magnetic field of the earth, a field that has now been repostured for this new consciousness.

Oh, there are those intellectuals who would say, "Well, what if we had destroyed ourselves as the prophecies said we would? What if there were no Humans to receive this?" It's simple. No Humans would have been here, but the planet would have still moved into this new area of space and the same energies would have been there, but you would not have been. Simple. But indeed, here you are!

So now you can see that the prophecy from the indigenous is also being fulfilled, for they told you about the changes coming after the precession of the equinoxes (December 2012). How could they have had this prophecy about your movement into a new place around your galaxy? Think about it! These things are not new, and even the ancients told you it was coming! They may not have known the specifics of science, but their prophecy is the same one I have: New consciousness is coming.

Dear ones, I want you to continue to put together these pieces physically in what you can see. As we told you, these changes affect your Sun. The heliosphere of your Sun changes you magnetic grid. Now, for this all to work, the Sun had to be quiet for this. I want you to ask an astronomer about the Sun and the cycles of the Sun. Ask about what period of radiance the Sun is in at the moment. The astronomer will tell you that it appears to be one of the quietest cycles that the Sun has ever seen. Solar flares and sunspots are disturbances in the multidimensional field that surrounds the Sun, so these had to be gone while the new energies were starting to be implemented. For this all to work, the Sun had to be as quiet as possible, and it is. The Sun's quiet time is also affecting your weather, and we told you that, too. Due to its quietness, you're in a cycle of weather that we also predicted [a cold time coming] that also has a lot to do with the energy that's coming. That's physical. Ask an astronomer, “Are they worried about all this?” Some of them are and others are not. But it is affecting you and the planet right now. Now you know why the magnetic grid was changed when it was changed and why. That's physical. .."

A real scorcher: NASA probe to fly into sun's atmosphere

Yahoo - AFP, Kerry SHERIDAN, June 1, 2017

The Parker Solar Probe is set to orbit within 3.9 million miles of the sun's
surface, where temperatures exceed 2,500 Fahrenheit (1,377 Celsius)

A new NASA mission aims to brush by the sun, coming closer than any spacecraft in history to its scorching heat and radiation in order to reveal how stars are made, the US space agency said Wednesday.

After liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 2018, the Parker Solar Probe will become the first to fly directly into the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona.

The plan for the unmanned spacecraft is to orbit within 3.9 million miles (6.3 million kilometers) of the sun's surface.

Temperatures in that region exceed 2,500 Fahrenheit (1,377 Celsius), for which the spacecraft is equipped with a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield.

Roughly the size of a small car, the probe will make seven flybys of the sun over a seven-year period, in what NASA described as a "mission of extremes."

Traveling at a speed of 430,000 mph, the spacecraft will move fast -- like going from New York City to Tokyo in less than a minute.

Scientists hope its data will improve forecasts of solar storms and space weather events that affect life on Earth, satellites and astronauts in space.

- Time for a visit -

The spacecraft will measure plasma waves and high-energy particles, and carry a white light imager to capture images of the structures through which it is flying, according to Nicola Fox, mission project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

"We will brush closely by it," she said at an event in Chicago to unveil the mission, which NASA has touted as promising to provide humanity's closest-ever observations of a star.

"You can learn so much from looking out the window," Fox said. "You can see the sun is shining, you can see the birds are singing. But until you actually go out, you have no idea quite how hot it is out there or how windy it is, or what the conditions are like."

"I think we have really come as far as we can with looking at things and now it is time to go up and pay it a visit," she added.

A 20-day launch window for the spacecraft's liftoff atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket opens July 31, 2018.

Re-named after astrophysicist

Initially called Solar Probe Plus, the mission was renamed after the astrophysicist Eugene Parker, 89, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.

He published the first paper to describe solar wind -- the high-speed matter and magnetism constantly escaping the sun -- in 1958.

"This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a living individual," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

"It's a testament to the importance of his body of work, founding a new field of science that also inspired my own research and many important science questions NASA continues to study and further understand every day."

Parker, who is days away from his 90th birthday, described the mission as "very exciting."

"One would like to have some more detailed measurements of what's going on in the solar wind," he said.

"I'm sure that there will be some surprises," he added. "There always are."

A real scorcher: NASA probe to fly into sun's atmosphere https://t.co/1UkAU86tVR pic.twitter.com/7KjKZ8db0Y

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 1, 2017

Seven Earth-like planets discovered around single star

Yahoo – AFP, Marlowe HOOD, February 23, 2017

An artist's impression shows the view just above the surface of one of the
planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system (AFP Photo/M. KORNMESSER)

Paris (AFP) - Researchers have announced the stunning discovery of seven Earth-like planets orbiting a small star in our galaxy, opening up the most promising hunting ground so far for life beyond the Solar System.

All seven roughly match the size and mass of our own planet and are almost certainly rocky, and three are perfectly perched to harbour life-nurturing oceans of water, they reported in the journal Nature Wednesday.

Most critically, their proximity to Earth and the dimness of their red dwarf star, called Trappist-1, will allow astronomers to analyse each one's atmosphere in search of chemical signatures of biological activity.

"We have made a crucial step towards finding life out there," said co-author Amaury Triaud, a scientist at the University of Cambridge.

"Up to now, I don't think we have had the right planets to find out," he said in a press briefing.

"Now we have the right target."

The Trappist-1 system, a mere 39 light years distant, has the largest number of Earth-sized planets known to orbit a single star.

It also has the most within the so-called "temperate zone" -- not so hot that water evaporates, nor so cold that it freezes rock-solid.

The discovery adds to growing evidence that our home galaxy, the Milky Way, may be populated with tens of billions of worlds not unlike our own -- far more than previously suspected.

Remarkably, professional stargazers may simply have been looking in the wrong place.

"The great idea of this approach was to study planets around the smallest stars of the galaxy, and close to us," said lead author Michael Gillon, a professor at the University of Liege in Belgium.

An artist's impression shows the view just above the surface of one of the 

planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system (AFP Photo/Simon MALFATTO, Sabrina 

BLANCHARD)

'Ultracool' dwarf star

"That is something nobody did before us -- most astronomers were focused on stars like our Sun," he told journalists ahead of publication.

Gillon and his team began to track Trappist-1 -- a so-called "ultracool" dwarf star with less than 10 percent the mass of the Sun -- with a dedicated telescope in 2010, and reported last year on three planets in its orbit.

They detected the invisible exoplanets using the so-called "transit" method: when an orbiting world passes between a star and an astronomer peering through a telescope, it dims the starlight by a tiny but measurable amount.

But when subsequent calculations didn't quite tally, Gillon realised that there might be other stars that had escaped Earth-bound observation.

"So we requested time with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope," said co-author Emmanuel Jehin, also at the University of Liege.

"This allowed us to get 20 consecutive 24-hour periods of observation, which was crucial to discovering that we had seven transiting planets."

Looking from Earth, the astronomers could only track activity around the star at night.

"From space, we observed continually and matched all the transits," 34 in all.

Compared to the distance between our Sun and its planets, the Trappist-1 family is very tightly bunched.

Indeed, the dwarf star and its seven satellites -- with orbits ranging from 1.5 to 12 days -- would all fit comfortably in the distance between the Sun and its closest planet, Mercury.

Some artist's illustrations of how the seven planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 might

 appear — including the possible presence of water oceans — alongside some 

images of the rocky planets in our Solar System (AFP Photo/Handout)

Like a sunset

If Earth were that close to the Sun, it would be a hellish ball of fire.

But because Trappist-1 emits far less radiation, temperatures on its planets -- depending on the atmosphere -- could be between zero and 100 degrees Celsius (32 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit), the scientists said.

Gillon and his team have started to analyse the chemical make-up of the atmospheres.

"There is at least one combination of molecules, if present with relative abundance, that would tell us there is life, with 99 percent confidence," said Gillon.

A certain mix of methane, oxygen or ozone, and carbon dioxide, for example, could almost certainly come only from biological sources.

"But except for detecting a message from beyond our solar system from intelligence out there, we will never be 100 percent sure," he added.

Someone standing on, say, Trappist-1 D, E or F -- the three middle planets -- would have a breathtaking panorama of the star and its system, Triaud said.

The red dwarf -- which would loom 10 times larger than the Sun in our sky -- would be a "deep crimson" shading into a salmon-like colour, he said.

"The view would be beautiful -- you would have about 200 times less light that from the Sun on Earth at midday," he added.

"It would be like the end of a sunset."

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Seven new Earth-like planets discovered around nearby star