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Twin Peaks


On 27 September, the Sun produced 2 almost identical, small solar flares: A C4.4-flare peaking at 17:20UT, and a C3.7-flare at 23:57UT. However, except for their near-equal strength, these eruptions differed quite a bit from each other, and they had also a very different impact on Earth.

The Solar Corona according to PROBA2


PROBA2 is an ESA micro-satellite that was launched on November 2, 2009. It carries an on-board camera to image the Sun in the Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV). The images obtained with this SWAP-instrument show the solar corona at 1 million degree, with a cadence of 1 image per 1-2 minutes, and a field of view (FOV) of minimum 1.7 solar diameters. More information on this imager is available at the SWAP-webpage.

A filament's jump to fame


Filaments are clouds of cooler gas trapped between magnetic fields of opposite polarity. Seen in suitable filters, they look like dark lines and strands against the hotter solar disk. Near the limb, when their silhouette is observed, they glow as towering, torches, hedges and arches. They are then called prominences.

All quiet on the solar front


Even when a solar cycle is close to its maximum, it may happen from time to time there are periods with low solar activity. This is especially true when the maximum is predicted to be already low to medium, as is the case for ongoing solar cycle 24.
Space weather forecasters can issue an alert when solar activity is extremely low. This "all quiet alert" is a message sent when quiet space weather conditions are expected for the next 48 hours or until further notice. This implies that:

    Die-Hard 2: The explosive finale


    In one of the previous STCE Newsletters, a long-living and quite dynamic solar filament was discussed.

    Fairies circle the solar north pole


    A die-hard solar filament


    Curiosity and the Proton Flares


    A roller coaster named "Sunspot Number"


    A CME with an Olympic speed

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