SolarSteph ๐ŸŒž

@stephyardley.bsky.social

Space Scientist, STFC Ermest Rutherford Fellow and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow @ Northumbria University. stephyardley.com

1/ T-minus 1 day until the solar eclipse โ€ผ๏ธ๐ŸŒž๐ŸŒ‘ Please remember to wear certified eclipse glasses not sunglasses! ๐Ÿ˜Ž Greenland ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ, Iceland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ, and Spain ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ will see a total eclipse but UK will still see a 90+% partial eclipse, the most significant since 1999. More info below๐Ÿ‘‡

BildBild

Met office cloud cover forecast for the partial #eclipse 12th Aug ๐Ÿ˜  Still time for the weather Gods to change their minds, but if not it'll be a case of all the Northerners heading South for a day trip to Swansea. ๐Ÿ”ญ

A map of the UK with cloud cover for 19:00 on the 12th August.  All of Ireland and Scotland are covered in cloud.  The word BOO has been annotated over the clouds
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social ยท last mo.

BlueSky: I give you the very grown up and highly professional Astronomer Royal for Scotland, as quoted in the Times. ๐Ÿคฃ #solareclipse ๐Ÿ”ญ www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

What happens if there are clouds?
"Nothing" Heymans says.  "Boo to the clouds"

We're about to experience the most significant eclipse in the UK since 1999๐ŸŒž๐ŸŒš On 12/08/2026 over 90% of the Sun will be covered by the moon. In Newcastle, ๐Ÿ•• it starts around 6:10pm, ๐ŸŒ— peaks at 7:07pm, ๐Ÿ•ฃ wraps up just after 8pm, with the Sun sitting low over the west-northwest horizon. Use eclipse ๐Ÿ˜Žโ€ผ๏ธ

Bild

Recently got a Seestar S30 Pro and I am super chuffed with it. Haven't had much time to play around with it but I managed to capture this quick image of the Sun on Friday evening where you can see AR 14482 in the middle! ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ˜Ž

Bild

Space weather update ๐ŸŒž Unsettledโ€“active conditions possible 2 Jul as a CME from 27 Jun arrives. G1โ€“G2 storm conditions likely by 3 Jul from the CME associated with the X1.1 flare on 30 Jun. Aurora chances rise for Northern UK, cloud/light permitting. ๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ

I'm happy to share our Royal Society Theo Murphy special issue on solar atmospheric abundances is out in Phil Trans A ๐ŸŒž I wrote the intro โ€” 16 papers, almost a third led by early-career scientists. Thanks to Guest Editors D. Long, D. Brooks & D. Baker! royalsocietypublishing.org/rsta/issue/3...

Volume 384 Issue 2323 | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A | The Royal Society

Influential themed journal issues across the physical mathematical and engineering sciences.

royalsocietypublishing.org

While we are currently being buffeted by high-speed solar wind from a coronal hole all eyes ๐Ÿ‘€ are on active region 14478 as it has developed into a complex region known as "beta-gamma-delta". These regions are often very flare productive and so it is worth watching as it rotates into view. ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ’ฅ

Looks like the Sun has woken up again with more active regions on the disk. There is a complex active region 14478 that is rotating into view that we have been watching with Solar Orbiter, although it has been fairly quiet so far let's see what it has in store for us! ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ

Bild

Some great news this morning! ESA has extended the Solar Orbiter missionโ€ผ๏ธ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ Solar Orbiter will continue to give us even better views of the Sun's poles as its orbital inclination increases. Plasma Observatory has been recommended as ESA's M7, with the formal decision expected in November. ๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ

BildBildBildBild

โ˜€๏ธThe Sun's at it againโ€ผ๏ธA filament eruption + M-class flare from AR 4461 has launched a CME our way expected to arrive early on Mon 8 June. A G3 (strong) storm watch is in effect. Best aurora will be over Canada, US, and northern Scotland (limited by reduced darkness).

After multiple CME arrivals it seems Earth is now being buffeted with a high-speed stream from a coronal hole. There are no further Earth-directed CMEs forecast so for now we expect G1-G2 conditions at first, getting quieter later on. โšก๏ธ

Bild

Update: A CME did arrive early this morning so the forecasts were pretty accurate! However, the impact was relatively weak with a northward magnetic field, meaning no geomagnetic storm. Let's see how the situation evolvesโ€ฆ ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿงฒ๐Ÿ‘€

Bild

Thanks to active region 4455 multiple eruptions are now on their way to Earth. A G3 (strong) storm watch is now in effect with the eruptions set to arrive early on 5 June according to HUXt. Mid-latitude aurora possible, but you'll be competing with summer skies! ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ๐ŸŒ๏ธ

IOP President Paul Howarth and I have today written to Science Minister Lord Vallance calling for aย full impact assessment of proposed STFC cutsย to particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN) research.

BildBildBild

Update: The CME has most likely already glanced us (see slight rise in EPAM) or it is a near miss, which could be due to the interaction with the coronal hole. G1-G2 still likely in the next few days due to the coronal hole influence ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ๐ŸŒ

Bild

Everyone has a dark side, even the Sun... Introducing 'Inspector Smile', Chapter 1 โ˜€๏ธ ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ This comic strip recap brings you up to speed with the Smile mission, ahead of launch on 9 April. ๐Ÿ”ญ ๐Ÿงช

Part one of the "Inspector Smile' comic strip introduces our life-giving star that has a dark side. For billions of years, it has been bombarding Earth with tiny particles. To protect us, Earth holds a giant shield, without which our thriving world would turn to wasteland.Part two of the 'Inspector Smile' comic strip talks about the auroras we see as a result of the solar wind hitting our magnetic shield. However, when the Sun sends powerful blasts, satellites can be disrupted, communication can be down and power may go off. To protect our modern world, we need to understand this shield better. We need an Inspector.

There was an X1.5 solar flare from AR 4405 this morning that is associated with an Earth-directed eruption. It looks like this eruption will be a glancing blow therefore a moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm watch has been issued. According to HUXt this CME will indeed hit Earth late on 31st. ๐ŸŒž๐Ÿ’จ๐Ÿ›ฐ๏ธ๐ŸŒ๏ธ