Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

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Carbon60
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Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Carbon60 »

A large coronal hole facing Earth is spewing high speed, southerly polarised solar wind, sparking aurora and moving magnetometer needles around the globe.
20170327_Coronal Hole.jpg
20170327_Coronal Hole.jpg (109.33 KiB) Viewed 4757 times
The southerly magnetic orientation within the plasma is making this particularly potent, allowing strong magnetic connection with Earth's magnetic field, generating a strong geomagnetic response.

Thanks for looking.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by carlosjackal »

Good stuff Stu! This was my first chance to test the temperature controlled version. Here's a raw data shot they look very agreeable.

Carl
IMG_20170327_212522.jpg
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by marktownley »

Good data there gents!


Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Carbon60 »

Thanks, Mark.

Carl, it looks like you're in business! Do you require the excel spreadsheet I've developed to scale and plot the data? Please send me a PM if you do.

Good work.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by carlosjackal »

Thanks Mark!
Stu yes the temperature control is a huge difference. The Eco is keeping to within 0.1 deg and working great!

I got the spreadsheets through PM last time so have them but i didn't get the instructions. The setup guide would be great. Just a note for some reason i cant reply on the PM system.
Thanks again.
Carl


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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Montana »

Great data and they look very comparable too :hamster: :bow

I got red alerts the other night, it was cloudy and I thought of you, at least you don't require clear skies :)

Alexandra


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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Carbon60 »

Absolutely, Alexandra.....Clouds are no problem :)

Carl, I'll aim to send you some instructions, but basically copy and paste your CSV data from your captured Spectrum Lab files into column 'A' and then ensure that the charts are set to plot from the start and end of the columns of calculated output data.

Regards

Stuart


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by carlosjackal »

Thanks Alexandra looks to be working well.
That would be great Stuff just need to know how to capture the CSV data as i just have it running live as such.

Cheers Carl


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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Carbon60 »

Hi Carl,

Setting up sampling rate:

The first task is to set (or check) the sampling rate.
Under SpectrumLab OPTIONS select 'spectrum display settings' and then under the 'spectrum (1) tab ensure that the sampling rate is set to 150 seconds. This provides sufficient resolution for daily data capture.
Setting sampling rate.jpg
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Setting up data capture:
Back on the main screen, select FILE and tick 'Export Calculated Data (Continuously)'.
Under the File Contents tab ensure that the column separator value is set to '9' and that the number of columns is set to '2'
Set the column titles as shown (time and frequency) and set the values and format as shown.
Setting exported data format.png
Setting exported data format.png (47.13 KiB) Viewed 4693 times
Under the file activation tab set the destination folder to which the data will be saved and tick 'active'. Data will then be captured at the rate set above (150 seconds) and saved in the designated folder.

CSV data:
Your captured data should open as a CSV text file, similar in format to this.....
CSV file.jpg
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You can then simply highlight the values (not the headings), copy and paste into cell 'A8' of the Excel spread sheet. The entire column should then automatically populate with the data and the spreadsheet will generate the output data. Don't forget to set cells F3 and F4 with the 'null' frequency (the frequency at which the output from the detector drops to zero) and the 'set frequency' (the frequency set on the detector LCD screen to give an output pitch of 3-4 kHz). Keep cell H4 (filter) set at 8 for now. This can be changed to higher or lower values to modify the output depending on the quality of the input (i.e. noise spikes). Higher numbers here have less of a filtering effect on the data.

Cells K3 and K4 allow you to scale the charts according to your closest 'INTERMAGNET' station if you want to. Simply go online to http://www.intermagnet.org/data-donnee/dataplot-eng.php, select a station closest to your location and plot the relevant data. Take note of the max and min nT values and use these to set cells K4 and K3 accordingly.

The following screen shots just tell you about setting up the charts, which you might already be familiar with.
Chart1.jpg
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Chart2.jpg
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Chart3.jpg
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I hope this helps.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
carlosjackal
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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by carlosjackal »

That is fantastic Stu! Thanks for taking the time to do it. I well have a go at this later today.

Cheers Carl


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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by highfnum »

I got some data also from out here in the west


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Re: Solar wind sparks geomagnetic storms

Post by Carbon60 »

Good luck, Carl. I'm sure it will work out.

Looking forward to seeing your data from out west, John.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
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