Rascal Nag

Well, last night it seemed like the whole aurora stuff was a bust... BUT NOT TODAY! The auroral oval, as predicted by the geophysical institute, is HUGE right now. The Bz component is also quite favorable for auroras, in that it\'s VERY far south and has been staying there for a looong time. You can see it here, the yellow line: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_2h.html If this continues until tonight, be ready for a show! Edit: NEW SHORT TERM FORECAST BY THE GEOPHYSICAL INSTITUTE

1520 has been quiet since the eruption, but is still a significant threat for X flares. The smooth decline from the X1.4 level has ended, and now the X-ray flux is jumping all about between B-level and C-level. However, over the past few hours I\'m noticing a general trend of rising X-ray flux. Here is the current graph, 1 minute data points: It\'s harder to see the trend here, but it\'s there. See the following graph for a better view, using 5 minute data over a few days. I\'ve added my own line to highlight what I\'m referring to: If you look at the background flux (not the actual C flares seen before the X one, I\'m referring to the mostly flat areas with very small mountains that would constitute the background), you can see it had been diving into the B range, with actual flares happening along the way. You can also see the trend in the blue lines before the X flare. Now look at the time after the flare: We experienced a long decline, and then when we got into the background flux again, it started diving as well. Now it\'s slowly picking itself back up again. If this is like last time, it could pick itself right back up into a large flare. If it\'s not, well, that\'s it then. Nothing to worry about. But for now, it might be a good idea to monitor the flux to see if it moves into a more steady rise - when the previous X flare began, the rapid fluctuation came to a quick stop, and the lines became smooth. If we see that again, it could be a signal that we\'re starting round 2. In fact, right now there is a steady riser with little fluctuation beginning right as I\'m typing. It\'s getting quite smooth right as I speak. I\'ll continue monitoring it for now. Edit: Here is an image of the graph, with the steady riser on the far right of the blue. Also, side note: The blue and red are the same, but the blue is more sensitive. The red is what is actually used to measure flares in their classes. Edit: There seems to now be normal fluctuation going on, but it\'s still rising. For now though, with the renewed fluctuation, it appears it\'s not quite ready to go into a massive flare. If you want to watch yourself, here\'s the NOAA graph, updating on 1 minute intervals. Watch the blue, the red isn\'t detailed enough to show the small rises that could lead to big flares. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_1m.html

That I\'m not sure of. I don\'t think an X1.4 flare and the resulting CME would be able to do THAT much to electronics, but we\'ll have to wait and see. Like I said, many predictions will have to wait until the last minute. More updates from NASA\'s Goddard Space Weather Center: ## NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Space Weather Center ( SWC ) ## Message Type: Space Weather Alert ## ## Message Issue Date: 2012-07-12T21:00:00Z ## Message ID: 20120712-AL-006 ## Alert Summary: Update on CME with ID 2012-07-12T16:54:00-CME-001 (see alert 20120712-AL-005). Based on preliminary heliospheric modeling carried out at NASA GSFC Space Weather Center, it is estimated that the CME may impact Earth, Messenger, Spitzer, MSL, Mars. Simulations indicate that the leading edge of the CME will reach Earth at about 2012-07-14T10:20Z (plus minus 7 hours). The roughly estimated expected range of the Kp index is 6-8 (moderate to severe). Simulations also indicate that the leading edge of the CME will reach (plus minus 7 hours): Messenger: 2012-07-13T10:04Z Earth: 2012-07-14T10:20Z Spitzer: 2012-07-14T13:56Z MSL: 2012-07-15T22:14Z Mars: 2012-07-16T00:55Z

UPDATE: A forecast has been put out for the Coronal Mass Ejection associated with the flare. http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=2038-01-23%2000:44:00&window=-1&cygnetId=261 Personal note: My goodness.

X-ray flux is starting to level out - putting the background flux in M territory. The flux is still dropping, but much slower now. This event has been going on for 4 hours now: 14:50 UT to 18:50 UT. I personally would not be surprised if it starts it pull back up soon, but I guess it could just as likely retain this pace all the way down to normal levels.

That picture is not representative of where auroras will be, only the absorption of protons. There is no prediction for the auroral oval as of yet, at least that I know of.

I have not seen any data yet for the latitudes of the auroras. It may take longer to obtain that, and there is also the fact that, with strong flares, the CME can reach Earth very quickly, and so any data may be last minute. Finally, strong CMEs may also contaminate the sensors of the probes which measure the solar wind, making predictions inaccurate. Based on previous X flares, a normal X1.4 would likely send the Auroras down to the Northern US states, but one which is this long-lasting may bring them down further. It\'s hard to pinpoint how it will turn out. Here is more data, depicting which areas will absorb the most protons: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/global.html As of 18:00 UTC, the Western Hemisphere, Mainly Central America, the US and Canada, are lit up.

GOES 6-hour X-ray flux 1 minute data reports that at its peak, the flare was classed as an X1.4. While not too far into the X territory, the X-ray flux remained in the X-class territory for about half an hour, and still is only slowly descending through the M class territory. The NOAA Space Weather warnings event has put out an alert for a Type IV radio event, 'typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections and solar radiation storms.' The current flux level is M6.1, and while not as strong as the peak, it is still a formidable flare. Sunspot 1520 has not made much noise in the recent days despite holding a Beta-Gamma-Delta class magnetic field, the most complex and energetic of the classes. It is also quite large, and very close to other sunspot groups such as 1519 and 1521, further contributing to the magnetic complexity of the group. Whether this is a let-off of much pent up energy and as a result an isolated event is not certain. It could signal an increase in activity. If this is the case, we are very far from being out of the woods - Sunspot 1520 is situated only a bit south of the center of the solar disc, and it will take a few days before it rotates out of view. For now, it is aiming directly at us. Furthermore, sunspot 1521 has shown fairly rapid growth and magnetic development, now a beta-gamma class sunspot. This is the second most complex and energetic level, the one right before BGD (beta-gamma-delta). It is very, very close to 1520, though a bit further along the disc. If it reaches BGD, it and 1520 would make a very dangerous pair. They certainly have time to make this occur. Be on the lookout for more flares, I have a feeling that 1520 is not done yet. They will surely be geoeffective if more occur, just like this one will be. Be on the lookout for auroras as well if you are in high latitudes and maybe even lower. The Bz component of the magnetic field at the moment is 2.2 nT north, making it a fairly routine situation, but if it does turn south then the magnetosphere would essentially open up a hole for the CME, allowing much greater auroras as well as power issues to be seen. Edit: X-Ray flux, 6 hour graph, updated every minute: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_1m.html Space Weather Warnings Center: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/warnings_timeline.html The flare (Just below the center, the bright spot) Sunspots 1520 and 1521:

Angstrom. When I say S?

Well, the universe isn\'t infinite in real life either. There is a finite amount of galaxies in the universe, eventually you\'ll pass all of them and be completely alone. It is also finite in terms of space, except it is continuously expanding.

To get one, bring the cursor over the the left of the screen to slide out the menu and click the icon with the spaceship (or just press ctrl-f3), click the one you want, and click 'teleport here'. Then, if the ship isn\'t already selected (you\'ll know if it is because info on the ship should show up in the top left), click on it, then press 4 for game mode (alternatively, bring up the menu again, select the ship you just teleported to you, and click 'switch to'). You\'ll move behind the ship, facing where the ship is facing. WASD move it forward, left, backwards and right respectively. R and F move it up and down respectively. The mousewheel or numpad + or - keys make the acceleration of WASD maneuvers greater or lesser. Numpad keys 4 and 6 turn the ship left and right respectively. 8 and 2 turn it up and down respectively. 7 and 9 roll left and right respectively. Pressing 5 will stop all rotation (hold it, it may take a few seconds). I puts you in hyperdrive mode, but that doesn\'t do anything yet as far as I know. P toggles orbit drawing, just click the body you want your orbit to be drawn in reference to. F1 brings you the map, in which you can see your orbit (as well as look at the entire universe, it\'s not just for orbits). I think that\'s everything.

Unfortunately such a beauty will not work once the jet fuel is differentiated from the rocket fuel.

Well, it\'s a quadruple system. There are two stars orbiting each other at one point, and then a brown dwarf and a black hole orbiting each other at the other point. These two binary systems orbit around each other. Here\'s the planet that was orbiting the black hole and brown dwarf barycenter: RS 0-8-14725181-244-7-5-16365-375 AA1

Yes, it\'s got the milky way (in fact, it\'s got most of the known objects in the universe, only the stuff we don\'t know of is procedural. Which is a lot, actually) and its black hole. And it doesn\'t normally look like that, with all the light and stuff. This star system has 2 stars, 1 brown dwarf and this black hole. I\'m viewing the black hole in such a way that it\'s distorting the light from the stars by being in front of them. Edit: New pic, I like this one a lot.

Just found this black hole while wandering around a galaxy. It wasn\'t in the center or a globular cluster either, it was just out here. Pretty cool.

I\'m pretty sure that torrents don\'t work like that. It\'s not hosted in Russia, it\'s not really 'hosted' at all, at least not in a traditional sense. If all of the seeders were in Russia, well, that would be a slow process I suppose, but that\'s doubtful.

I was experiencing the same issue, but he also has it up for torrent, that took only a few minutes for me. Edit: Thought I might share some of my screenshots from .96 The Universe. Scorched Selena. A spiral galaxy, with all the galaxies of the Universe in the background.

So, it finally got released! http://en.spaceengine.org/ For those who don\'t know what this is, it\'s a program that lets you explore the entire universe (no, not the virgo supercluster anymore. As of .96, it\'s the whole universe), From galaxies to nebulae to stars and planets of all sorts. Most of it is procedurally generated. But maybe the most impressive thing is that this whole thing was made by one Russian...

Now I REALLY want reentry effects to come soon. With IVAs on the way, it would be awesome to experience re-entry heat from the inside.

Here\'s all the ones I\'ve made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGRyfZh5r4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwX3P14RJiU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLMUrmC0peQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGd28eqWwWc

Well, that\'s why you just turn around part way through the journey and burn the other way to slow down... While Thorium has a lot of safety advantages, like being unable to melt down, less radioactive fuel (you could hold some thorium in your pocket with no ill effects), cannot be used in reactors to make nuclear fuel, consumes other nuclear waste, no high pressure explosions due to different containment, among others, safety is not the main advantage. The main advantage is that thorium will give us much more energy for what we put in - a golf ball of thorium could provide anyone with enough power for their entire life. It\'s as common as tin as well, so it\'s far less expensive to obtain, and because it gives more bang for your buck, you don\'t need as much anyway, making it even cheaper. Then once you\'re done, much of the waste is actually quite useful in other fields, so it can go right back into the market rather than be sitting in containment. Sure, you can make Uranium reactors far safer with enough work. But you can\'t magically make Uranium more energy-dense and common on Earth.

Thanks, glad you like it. I actually had done a test flight before this to see how mechjeb would work (this is the first time I used it, since I could not hope to get into orbit with these camera angles with no HUD), and I did consider making sure it was stable after it reached orbit, but decided against it so that the whole scene was visible at some point or another.

So, I just found out about r4m0n\'s fixed camera plugin yesterday (I\'m late, I know), and immediately had to try it out. Eventually, 'Trying it out' evolved into using it to record a video, using real launch audio to accompany it. Kerbal Space Program - Flight to orbit Brilliant plugin, r4m0n. Really opens up a ton of opportunities for filmmaking. Has anyone else used the plugin?

http://io9.com/5921673/nuclear-slapshots-could-propel-a-spacecraft-to-mars-in-just-weeks Reminds me of Orion, but without the whole 'full-fledged nuclear bombs in space' problem.

That was brilliant!