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Go North West BJ10VUR 6227 seen coming into Bolton Interchange on Bee Network 22 from The Trafford Centre
45046 after arrival at Penzance with the 10.22 from Plymouth on 2.5.83. This was one of the last occasions that a steam-heat Peak worked to Penzance
First Manchester: 69530 (BD11 CFF) a Wright Eclipse 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE, painted in corporate livery. This vehicle is captured here about to enter Stockport's Bus Station whilst operating a journey on Service 22 from Bolton.
© Christopher Lowe.
Date: 14th October 2012.
Ref No. 0032429.
I am enjoying a day off today. I was particularly pleased that my only bus ride of the day was on the Devon General centenary bus, Scania N230 Enviro 400 15893 (WA13 GDX), on a 22 from Babbacombe to Torquay Harbour. I would return to my hotel via one of my favourite walks in the area, the coast path via Daddyhole Plain, Meadfoot Beach, Hope Point and Anstey Cove.
26th May, 2022.
Friday saw an incredibly rare working occur, when decker DD111 failed on me at Long Bennington whilst working service 22 from the Grantham Schools to Coddington. No other double deckers were immediately available at the time of phoning in, and after checking how many passengers I had on board, it was clear a single decker would suffice.
Lo and behold, some 20 or so minutes later, Dennis Dart DS94 appeared and we sailed off into the sunset... kind of!
Seen here on Sleaford Road, having just terminated, the eagle eyed locals amongst you will have spotted that my bus is facing the wrong way for Coddington! The A1 was backing up before I even left Long Bennington, so a decision was made that I would divert via Valley Lane and Grange Lane to Balderton to avoid it - which was fine and all okay! However, it then transpired there had also been an incident on the A17 near Coddington too, so with all the stacking delays in mind, and the locations of remaining drop-offs collated, another request was made to divert via Balderton village, and operate direct along Coddington Lane to Coddington.
With this being approved, we were on the way... until we got to Coddington and parked cars in the village there were causing utter carnage! Still, we made it eventually!
The use of a single decker on any of the Grantham services (other than the 1655 X22 journey for the few after school club goers) is absolutely unheard of owing to the number of children travelling, so I can't stress how unusual this working actually was - but also how well it shows the resilience of the company after the events of last weekend.
5/2022 - Hollidaysburg, PA
A few new shots of Curry Rail's new facility at the former Watco car shop. This is on the other side of Rt 22 from the former Conrail/PRR car shop.
Alexander R266.
Leyland Titan TD7/Leyland.
Scottish Vintage Bus Museum,Fife - 21.8.22.
From my late brother's collection.
Leyland Olympian DD76 had a special journey out to Grantham on Thursday evening, when I was working the 1700 22 from there to Sutton on Trent - having gone straight there from the 37 duplicate.
It is seen here on Sandon Road, at the stop before the run goes into service - I'd just set the displays and headed into the cold to check they were all (about!) level and readable.
It's highly likely to have been the final ever time the vehicle will ever visit Grantham in passenger service with Marshalls, with a little special permission being needed before I was okay to take it!
The old girl didn't miss a beat, performing faultlessly throughout. I understand that like all of the other Olympians, DD76 has now been sold pending a release date once the Tridents are all ready - and that's expected fairly imminently. It'll definitely be a very sad day when it departs Poplar Farm depot for the final time.
It's fair to say that I definitely cherish every moment driving it!
Celebrate Second Life’s 13th Birthday with Us!
community.secondlife.com/t5/Featured-News/Celebrate-Secon...
We All Start Somewhere …
Do you remember the first outfit you put together for your avatar? If you still have some of those oldies but goodies in your inventory, why not dust them off for posterity and show up to the Flashback Party at the SL13B Cake Stage on Wednesday, June 22, from 7 - 9 pm SLT? Wear something old and bring your oldest Second Life friend - the plan is to celebrate the past in all its glory and share some amazing stories from the Second Life days of yore. Dancing, music, and some good old-fashioned nostalgia - it’
Visit this location at SL13B Fascinate Cake Stage in Second Life
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Monday, April 19, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Cathay Cargo 22 from Melbourne (MEL/YMML) turning onto 'Alfa' from 16R Sydney Airport (SYD/YSSY) for the cargo ramp
"Tadpole" (3-R or Class 206) diesel-electric unit 1205 is on the 09.22 from Reading General to Tonbridge.
The station building at Godstone was demolished not very long afterwards and replaced by a "bus shelter"
Since repainted into Stripes livery, 18308 is pictured at Dawlish working route 22 from Paignton to Dawlish Warren.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Friday, April 16, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Ensignbus 339 (which was new in April 1999 to Stagecoach London as TA78, later 17078 in Barking) is seen at Lakeside starting a 73 to Tilbury, Civic Square. This is part of a special #BeCool event which takes place over 3 days on three separate routes. This was taken on Wednesdays operation on the 73. On thursday, it would do the 83 between Lakeside and Chadwell St Mary, On Friday, it will run the 22 from Aveley Usk Road to Grays Bus Station. New to SLN in 1999. Went to Stagecoach Cambridge still in dual door config, got converted to open top for CitySightseeing Cambridge, also got converted to single door (stagecoach) and is now with Ensignbus as their 339.
Go North West BG66MJU 3056 seen on Great Moor Street, Bolton helping out on Bee Network service 22 from The Trafford Centre
This Sunday, February 22 from 12 noon until 2pm will be our opening event for the fantasy works of Freyja Merryman and Luka Henusaki! They will each have 15 pictures on display. TerryLynn Melody will be performing her beautiful songs live for the event. The exhibit of Freyja and Luka's pictures will continue through March 22. All new pictures will also be up in the gallery! Don't miss the fun!
Seen at Bartley Green interchange on Romsley Road while operating branded service 22 from Birmingham city centre to Kitwell.
Current garage: Birmingham Central
I primi probabili riferimenti alle macchie solari sono quelli degli astronomi cinesi del primo millennio d.C., che probabilmente potevano vedere i gruppi di macchie più grandi quando lo splendore del sole era diminuito dalla polvere sollevata dai vari deserti dell'Asia centrale.
Furono osservate telescopicamente per la prima volta nel 1610 dagli astronomi frisoni Johannes e David Fabricius, che pubblicarono una loro descrizione nel giugno del 1611. In questa data Galileo stava già mostrando le macchie solari agli astronomi a Roma e Christoph Scheiner aveva probabilmente osservato le macchie per due o tre mesi. La polemica tra Galileo e Scheiner per la prima osservazione, quando nessuno dei due sapeva del lavoro dei Fabricius, fu quindi tanto acida quanto inutile.
Le macchie solari ebbero una qualche importanza nel dibattito sulla natura del sistema solare. Mostravano che il Sole ruotava su se stesso, e il fatto che apparivano e scomparivano dimostrava che il Sole subiva dei cambiamenti, in contraddizione con gli insegnamenti di Aristotele.
Le ricerche sulle macchie solari segnarono il passo per la maggior parte del XVII e l'inizio del XVIII secolo, perché a causa del Minimo di Maunder quasi nessuna macchia solare fu visibile per molti anni. Ma dopo la ripresa dell'attività solare, Heinrich Schwabe poté riportare nel 1843 un cambiamento periodico nel numero delle macchie solari, che sarebbe poi stato chiamato il ciclo undecennale dell'attività solare.
Un flare estremamente potente fu emesso verso la Terra il 1º settembre 1859. Interruppe i servizi telegrafici e causò aurore boreali visibili molto a sud, fino alle Hawaii e a Roma, e in modo simile nell'emisfero sud. Il flare più luminoso osservato dai satelliti è avvenuto il 4 novembre 2003 alle 19:29 UTC, ed ha saturato gli strumenti per 11 minuti. La regione 486, responsabile del flare, ha prodotto un flusso di raggi X stimato a X28. Le osservazioni hanno mostrato che l'attività è continuata sulla faccia lontana del Sole, quando la sua rotazione ha nascosto la regione attiva alla nostra vista.
È stata registrata l'assenza di macchie solari per 266 giorni su 366 nel 2008, e per 78 giorni nei primi 90 del 2009.
Fisica [modifica]
Primo piano di una macchia solare all'ultravioletto. Immagine del satellite TRACE.
Anche se i dettagli della formazione delle macchie solari sono ancora oggetto di ricerca, è abbastanza chiaro che esse sono la controparte visibile di tubi di flusso magnetico nella zona convettiva del Sole che vengono "arrotolati" dalla rotazione differenziale della stella. Se lo stress su questi tubi supera un certo limite, rimbalzano come elastici e "forano" la superficie solare. Nei punti in cui essi attraversano la superficie la convezione non può operare, il flusso di energia che arriva dall'interno del Sole si riduce, e la temperatura di conseguenza scende. L'effetto Wilson suggerisce che le macchie solari siano anche delle depressioni rispetto al resto della superficie.
Questo modello è supportato da osservazioni che usano l'effetto Zeeman, che mostra come le macchie solari appena nate spuntino a coppie, di opposta polarità magnetica. Da ciclo a ciclo, la polarità delle macchie anteriori e posteriori (rispetto alla rotazione del Sole) cambia da nord/sud a sud/nord e viceversa. In genere le macchie solari appaiono a gruppi più o meno grandi.
Una macchia solare può essere divisa in due parti:
ombra, più scura e fredda
penombra, intermedia tra l'ombra e la superficie solare
La velocità delle onde sonore nei pressi di una macchia solare.
Le linee di campo magnetico dovrebbero respingersi l'un l'altra, facendo quindi disperdere rapidamente le macchie solari, ma la vita di una macchia è in media di appena due settimane, un periodo troppo breve. Osservazioni recenti condotte dalla sonda SOHO, utilizzando le onde sonore che viaggiano nella fotosfera solare per formare un'immagine dell'interno del Sole, hanno mostrato che sotto ogni macchia solare vi sono potenti correnti di materiale dirette verso l'interno del Sole, che formano dei vortici che concentrano le linee di campo magnetico. Di conseguenza le macchie sono delle tempeste auto-sostenentesi, simili in alcuni aspetti agli uragani terrestri.
L'attività delle macchie segue un ciclo di circa 11 anni (il ciclo undecennale dell'attività solare). Ogni ciclo di undici anni comprende un massimo ed un minimo, che sono identificati contando il numero di macchie solari che appaiono in quell'anno. All'inizio del ciclo, le macchie tendono ad apparire a latitudini elevate, per poi muoversi verso l'equatore quando il ciclo si avvicina al massimo (questo comportamento è chiamato legge di Spörer).
Oggi si conoscono molti periodi diversi nella variazione del numero di macchie, di cui quello di 11 anni è semplicemente il più evidente. Lo stesso periodo è osservato nella maggior parte delle altre espressioni di attività solare, ed è profondamente legato alle variazioni del campo magnetico solare. Non si sa se esistano periodi molto lunghi (di secoli o più), perché l'intervallo registrato dagli astronomi è troppo corto, ma se ne sospetta fortemente l'esistenza.
Conseguenze sull'ambiente [modifica]
Alcuni ritengono che le macchie solari siano la causa alla base del riscaldamento globale e l'uomo e i suoi consumi abbiano contribuito in minor parte al fenomeno rispetto ad esse.[1]. O, meglio, le macchie solari sono indice dell'attività solare, che determina la radiazione solare trasmessa al nostro pianeta. Piccole variazioni di questa radiazione, secondo gli ultimi studi, avrebbero una visibile influenza sul clima terrestre.[2] Le macchie solari, sappiamo oggi, sono intensi campi magnetici che appaiono durante periodi d’elevata attività solare, ma per secoli e da molto prima che se ne conoscesse la natura gli astronomi ne hanno registrato il numero, e dai dati raccolti si può notare tra il 1645 e il 1715 una drastica riduzione nel numero delle macchie solari (minimo di Maunder, dal nome dell’astronomo inglese che osservò la circostanza).
Quanto il numero di macchie solari sia un attendibile indicatore del clima lo scoprirono il ricercatore danese Friis-Christensen e i suoi collaboratori, che nel 1991 dimostrarono la stretta correlazione tra attività solare e temperatura globale in tutto il periodo compreso fra il 1860 e il 1990. Per escludere che quella correlazione fosse una semplice coincidenza, andarono indietro nel tempo per altri 400 anni e, di nuovo, accertarono la stretta correlazione tra attività solare e temperatura globale.
Il sole influenza il clima non solo, direttamente, col suo calore ma anche, indirettamente, attraverso la formazione delle nuvole, che hanno un potente effetto raffreddante.
La potenza di questo effetto è diventata chiara solo recentemente, dopo che si sono confrontate, nel corso degli anni, le temperature globali con il flusso di raggi cosmici, scoprendo, ancora una volta, una stretta correlazione tra temperatura globale e flusso cosmico, con la prima che aumenta ogni volta che il secondo diminuisce, e viceversa: il clima è controllato anche dalle nuvole, queste sono controllate dal flusso di raggi cosmici a sua volta controllato dall’intensità del campo magnetico dal sole, cioè dalla attività della nostra stella.
Va detto però che tali teorie sono ancora al vaglio della Comunità Scientifica, e al momento sono oggetto di dibattito e contestazione accademica.
Osservazione [modifica]
Le macchie solari si possono osservare piuttosto facilmente, basta un piccolo telescopio usato col metodo della proiezione dall'oculare. In alcune circostanze, specialmente all'alba e al tramonto, le macchie solari possono essere viste anche ad occhio nudo. Tuttavia, è bene non guardare mai il Sole senza l'ausilio di un filtro in quanto può causare danni permanenti alla retina.
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature. They usually appear as pairs, with each sunspot having the opposite magnetic pole than the other.[1]
Although they are at temperatures of roughly 3000–4500 K (2727–4227 °C), the contrast with the surrounding material at about 5,780 K (5,510 °C) leaves them clearly visible as dark spots, as the luminous intensity of a heated black body (closely approximated by the photosphere) is a function of temperature to the fourth power. If the sunspot were isolated from the surrounding photosphere it would be brighter than the Moon.[2] Sunspots expand and contract as they move across the surface of the Sun and can be as small as 16 kilometers (9.9 mi)[3] and as large as 160,000 kilometers (99,000 mi)[4] in diameter, making the larger ones visible from Earth without the aid of a telescope.[5] They may also travel at relative speeds ("proper motions") of a few hundred meters per second when they first emerge onto the solar photosphere.
Manifesting intense magnetic activity, sunspots host secondary phenomena such as coronal loops (prominences) and reconnection events. Most solar flares and coronal mass ejections originate in magnetically active regions around visible sunspot groupings. Similar phenomena indirectly observed on stars are commonly called starspots and both light and dark spots have been measured.[6]
]Prehistoric evidence
Studies of stratigraphic data have suggested that the solar cycles have been active for hundreds of millions of years, if not longer; measuring varves in precambrian sedimentary rock has revealed repeating peaks in layer thickness, with a pattern repeating approximately every eleven years. It is possible that the early atmosphere on Earth was more sensitive to changes in solar radiation than today, so that greater glacial melting (and thicker sediment deposits) could have occurred during years with greater sunspot activity.[7][8] This would presume annual layering; however, alternate explanations (diurnal) have also been proposed.[9]
Analysis of tree rings has revealed a detailed picture of past solar cycles: Dendrochronologically dated radiocarbon concentrations have allowed for a reconstruction of sunspot activity dating back 11,400 years, far beyond the four centuries of available, reliable records from direct solar observation.[10]
[edit]Early observations
A drawing of a sunspot in the Chronicles of John of Worcester
The earliest surviving record of sunspot observation dates from 364 BC, based on comments by Chinese astronomer Gan De in a star catalogue.[11] By 28 BC, Chinese astronomers were regularly recording sunspot observations in official imperial records.[12]
The first clear mention of a sunspot in Western literature, around 300 BC, was by the ancient Greek scholar Theophrastus, student of Plato and Aristotle and successor to the latter.[13] A more recent sunspot observation was made on 17 March 807 AD by the Benedictine monk Adelmus, who observed a large sunspot that was visible for eight days; however, Adelmus incorrectly concluded he was observing a transit of Mercury.[14] A large sunspot was also seen at the time of Charlemagne's death in 813 AD.[15] Sunspot activity in 1129 was described by John of Worcester, and Averroes provided a description of sunspots later in the 12th century;[16] however, these observations were also misinterpreted as planetary transits, until Galileo gave the correct explanation in 1612.[17]
[edit]17th and 18th centuries
Sunspots in 1794 Samuel Dunn Map
Sunspots were first observed telescopically in late 1610 by the English astronomer Thomas Harriot and Frisian astronomers Johannes and David Fabricius, who published a description in June 1611. At the latter time, Galileo had been showing sunspots to astronomers in Rome, and Christoph Scheiner had probably been observing the spots for two or three months using an improved helioscope of his own design. The ensuing priority dispute between Galileo and Scheiner, neither of whom knew of the Fabricius' work, was thus as pointless as it was bitter.
Sunspots had some importance in the debate over the nature of the Solar System. They showed that the Sun rotated, and their comings and goings showed that the Sun changed, contrary to Aristotle (who taught that all celestial bodies were perfect, unchanging spheres).
Rudolf Wolf studied the historical record in an attempt to establish a database on past cyclic variations. His database extended only to 1700, although the technology and techniques for careful solar observations were first available in 1610. Gustav Spörer later suggested a 70-year period before 1716 in which sunspots were rarely observed as the reason for Wolf's inability to extend the cycles into the 17th century.
Sunspots were rarely recorded during the second part of 17th century. Later analysis revealed the problem not to be a lack of observational data but included references to negative observations. Building upon Spörer's earlier work, Edward Maunder suggested that the Sun had changed from a period in which sunspots all but disappeared from the solar surface to a renewal of sunspot cycles starting in about 1700. Adding to this understanding of the absence of solar cycles were observations of aurorae, which were absent at the same time. Even the lack of a solar corona during solar eclipses was noted prior to 1715. The period of low sunspot activity from 1645 to 1717 is known as the "Maunder Minimum".
[edit]19th century
The cyclic variation of the number of sunspots was first observed by Heinrich Schwabe between 1826 and 1843 and led Wolf to make systematic observations starting in 1848. The Wolf number is a measure of individual spots and spot groupings, which correlates to a number of solar observables. Also in 1848, Joseph Henry projected an image of the Sun onto a screen and determined that sunspots were cooler than the surrounding surface.[18]
After the resumption of sunspot activity, Heinrich Schwabe in 1844 in Astronomische Nachrichten (Astronomical News) reported a periodic change in the number of sunspots.
The Sun emitted an extremely powerful flare on its visible hemisphere on 1 September 1859, leading to what is known as the Carrington Event. It interrupted electrical telegraph service and caused visible aurorae as far south as Havana, Hawaii, and Rome with similar activity in the southern hemisphere.
[edit]20th century
The American solar astronomer George Ellery Hale, as an undergraduate at MIT, invented the spectroheliograph, with which he made the discovery of solar vortices. In 1908, Hale used a modified spectroheliograph to show that the spectra of hydrogen exhibited the Zeeman effect whenever the area of view passed over a sunspot on the solar disc. This was the first indication that sunspots were basically magnetic phenomena, which appeared in pairs that corresponded with two magnetic poles of opposite polarity.[19] Subsequent work by Hale demonstrated a strong tendency for east-west alignment of magnetic polarities in sunspots, with mirror symmetry across the solar equator; and that the magnetic polarity for sunspots in each hemisphere switched orientation, from one sunspot cycle to the next.[20] This systematic property of sunspot magnetic fields is now commonly referred to as the "Hale-Nicholson law",[21] or in many cases simply "Hale's law".
[edit]21st century
The most powerful flare observed by satellite instrumentation began on 4 November 2003 at 19:29 UTC, and saturated instruments for 11 minutes. Region 486 has been estimated to have produced an X-ray flux of X28. Holographic and visual observations indicate significant activity continued on the far side of the Sun.
Measurements made in the latter part of the 2000s (decade) and based also on observation of infrared spectral lines, have suggested that sunspot activity may again be disappearing, possibly leading to a new minimum.[22] From 2007-2009, sunspot levels were far below average. In 2008, the Sun was spot-free 73 percent of the time, extreme even for a solar minimum. Only 1913 was more pronounced, with 85 percent of that year clear. The Sun continued to languish through mid-December 2009, when the largest group of sunspots to emerge for several years appeared. Even then, sunspot levels remained well below normal.[23]
Nasa's 2006 prediction. At 2010/2011, the sunspot count was expected to be at its maximum, but in reality in 2010 it was still at its minimum.
In 2006, NASA made a prediction for the next sunspot maximum, being between 150 and 200 around the year 2011 (30-50% stronger than cycle 23), followed by a weak maximum at around 2022.[24][25] The prediction did not come true. Instead, the sunspot cycle in 2010 was still at its minimum, where it should have been near its maximum, which shows the Sun's current unusual low activity.[26]
Due to a missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles, independent scientists of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) now (2011) predict that the next 11-year solar sunspot cycle, Cycle 25, will be greatly reduced or may not happen at all.[27]
Cycle 24 is now well underway (as of March 2012); measurements indicate that the minimum occurred around December 2008 and that the next maximum will reach a sunspot number of 90 around May 2013.[28] Nothing has yet been stated for cycle 25.
[edit]Physics
Main article: Solar cycle
A sunspot viewed close-up in ultraviolet light, taken by the TRACE spacecraft
Although the details of sunspot generation are still a matter of research, it appears that sunspots are the visible counterparts of magnetic flux tubes in the Sun's convective zone that get "wound up" by differential rotation. If the stress on the tubes reaches a certain limit, they curl up like a rubber band and puncture the Sun's surface. Convection is inhibited at the puncture points; the energy flux from the Sun's interior decreases; and with it surface temperature.
The Wilson effect tells us that sunspots are actually depressions on the Sun's surface. Observations using the Zeeman effect show that prototypical sunspots come in pairs with opposite magnetic polarity. From cycle to cycle, the polarities of leading and trailing (with respect to the solar rotation) sunspots change from north/south to south/north and back. Sunspots usually appear in groups.
The sunspot itself can be divided into two parts:
The central umbra, which is the darkest part, where the magnetic field is approximately vertical (normal to the Sun's surface).
The surrounding penumbra, which is lighter, where the magnetic field is more inclined.
Magnetic pressure should tend to remove field concentrations, causing the sunspots to disperse, but sunspot lifetimes are measured in days or even weeks. In 2001, observations from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) using sound waves traveling below the Sun's photosphere (local helioseismology) were used to develop a three-dimensional image of the internal structure below sunspots; these observations show that there is a powerful downdraft underneath each sunspot, forming a rotating vortex that concentrates the magnetic field.[29] Sunspots can thus be thought of as self-perpetuating storms, analogous in some ways to terrestrial hurricanes.
Butterfly diagram showing paired Spörer's law behavior
Sunspot activity cycles about every eleven years. The point of highest sunspot activity during this cycle is known as Solar Maximum, and the point of lowest activity is Solar Minimum. Early in the cycle, sunspots appear in the higher latitudes and then move towards the equator as the cycle approaches maximum: this is called Spörer's law.
Wolf number sunspot index displays various periods, the most prominent of which is at about 11 years in the mean. This period is also observed in most other expressions of solar activity and is deeply linked to a variation in the solar magnetic field that changes polarity with this period, too.
The modern understanding of sunspots starts with George Ellery Hale, who first linked magnetic fields and sunspots in 1908.[19] Hale suggested that the sunspot cycle period is 22 years, covering two polar reversals of the solar magnetic dipole field. Horace W. Babcock later proposed a qualitative model for the dynamics of the solar outer layers. The Babcock Model explains that magnetic fields cause the behavior described by Spörer's law, as well as other effects, which are twisted by the Sun's rotation.
[edit]Variation
Main article: Solar variation
400 year sunspot history
11,000 year sunspot reconstruction
Sunspot populations quickly rise and more slowly fall on an irregular cycle of 11 years, although significant variations in the number of sunspots attending the 11-year period are known over longer spans of time. For example, from 1900 to the 1960s, the solar maxima trend of sunspot count has been upward; from the 1960s to the present, it has diminished somewhat.[30] Over the last decades the Sun has had a markedly high average level of sunspot activity; it was last similarly active over 8,000 years ago.[10]
The number of sunspots correlates with the intensity of solar radiation over the period since 1979, when satellite measurements of absolute radiative flux became available. Since sunspots are darker than the surrounding photosphere it might be expected that more sunspots would lead to less solar radiation and a decreased solar constant. However, the surrounding margins of sunspots are brighter than the average, and so are hotter; overall, more sunspots increase the Sun's solar constant or brightness. The variation caused by the sunspot cycle to solar output is relatively small, on the order of 0.1% of the solar constant (a peak-to-trough range of 1.3 W·m−2 compared to 1366 W·m−2 for the average solar constant).[31][32] Sunspots were rarely observed during the Maunder Minimum in the second part of the 17th century (approximately from 1645 to 1715).
[edit]Observation
The Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Sunspots are observed with land-based and Earth-orbiting solar telescopes. These telescopes use filtration and projection techniques for direct observation, in addition to various types of filtered cameras. Specialized tools such as spectroscopes and spectrohelioscopes are used to examine sunspots and sunspot areas. Artificial eclipses allow viewing of the circumference of the Sun as sunspots rotate through the horizon.
Since looking directly at the Sun with the naked eye permanently damages vision, amateur observation of sunspots is generally conducted indirectly using projected images, or directly through protective filters. Small sections of very dark filter glass, such as a #14 welder's glass are effective. A telescope eyepiece can project the image, without filtration, onto a white screen where it can be viewed indirectly, and even traced, to follow sunspot evolution. Special purpose hydrogen-alpha narrow bandpass filters as well as aluminum coated glass attenuation filters (which have the appearance of mirrors due to their extremely high optical density) on the front of a telescope provide safe observation through the eyepiece.
[edit]Application
Detail of a sunspot in 2005. The granulation of the Sun's surface can be seen clearly
Due to its link to other kinds of solar activity, sunspot occurrence can be used to help predict space weather, the state of the ionosphere, and hence the conditions of short-wave radio propagation or satellite communications. Solar activity (and the sunspot cycle) are frequently discussed in the context of global warming; Jack Eddy noted the apparent correlation between the Maunder Minimum of sunspot occurrence and the Little Ice Age in European climate.[citation needed] Sunspots themselves, in terms of the magnitude of their radiant-energy deficit, have only a weak effect on the terrestrial climate[33] in a direct sense. On longer time scales, such as the solar cycle, other magnetic phenomena (faculae and the chromospheric network) do correlate with sunspot occurrence. It is these other features that make the solar constant increase slightly at sunspot maxima, when naively one might expect that sunspots would make it decrease.[34]
British economist William Stanley Jevons suggested in the 1870s that there is a relationship between sunspots and business cycle crises. Jevons reasoned that sunspots affect Earth's weather, which, in turn, influences crops and, therefore, the economy.[35]
[edit]Spots on other stars
In 1947, G. E. Kron proposed that starspots were the reason for periodic changes in brightness on red dwarfs.[6] Since the mid-1990s, starspot observations have been made using increasingly powerful techniques yielding more and more detail: photometry showed starspot growth and decay and showed cyclic behavior similar to the Sun's; spectroscopy examined the structure of starspot regions by analyzing variations in spectral line splitting due to the Zeeman Effect; Doppler imaging showed differential rotation of spots for several stars and distributions different from the Sun's; spectral line analysis measured the temperature range of spots and the stellar surfaces. For example, in 1999, Strassmeier reported the largest cool starspot ever seen rotating the giant K0 star XX Triangulum (HD 12545) with a temperature of 3,500 K (3,230 °C), together with a warm spot of 4,800 K (4,530 °C).[6][36]
[edit]
This tiny street between the Bílá Tower and the Daliborka Tower is lined with colourful houses resembling something out of a fairy tale. These houses were built into the castle's fortifications around the end of the 16th century and were occupied until the Second World War. The current appearance of the Golden Lane dates to the year 1955, and after a recent extensive renovation, the houses now contain exhibitions about life in the lane over the past 500 years. Franz Kafka lived and worked in house number 22 from 1916 to 1917. The Golden Lane is part of the Prague Castle guided tour.
Enviro 400MMC 8912 was captured on Whitehall Street in the heart of the city outside what used to be a well known department store. The bus, which was named Lila Clunas after a Dundee suffragette, is seen operating route 22 from Craigowl to Ninewells Hospital. The building on the right was part of Draffens, a Dundee institution. The department store could trace its history back to 1834 but became Draffens in 1889. It would be acquired by Debenhams in the 1980s - the latter continued to trade there until 2000 when they relocated to the Overgate, before themselves ceasing to trade in 2021
Have your own donut and coffee cafe in 4 sets at 75L each at the Sales room the weekend of 7/22/22 from Kei Spot maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MoonLand/180/32/22
Diamond Bus North West MX06VNN 69157 seen on Great Moor Street, Bolton on service 22 from The Trafford Centre
NASA astronauts Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-2 mission launch, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet, and Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Edinburgh 86.
1961 Leyland Tiger Cub/Weymann B47F.
Scottish Vintage Bus Museum,Fife - 21.8.22.
From my late brothers collection.
Shot for a "White Trash Christmas" Special blog posting in collaboration with Mayday Garage
Be sure to read the blog posting in the link above!
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A during a brief static fire test ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission, Saturday, April 17, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
"Do you mind if I take a pix"?
"Sure, shoot away".
Michael Shoehorn Conley both taps and plays alto sax.
"Hey, I saw you at the ....fundraiser"
"Yep".
Shoehorn's talent is wide and deep, was more than willing to be photographed, and spread lots of joys playing in the park.
Incomparable, he often works street fairs, etc. in Portland.
www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUZVWr2j8AN1DsIFJ9xMwThw&v...
Thanks Shoehorn! Keep sharing your gifts!!!!
Here's his website: www.shoehornmusic.com
Preserved Go-Ahead London ADL President bodied Volvo B7TL PVL390 (LX54HAA) is seen here on High Street, East Grinstead at journey’s end on the 22 from Godstone Green.
Arriva North East 7427, a 2005 ADL ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL, reg no LJ55BRZ, seen on 18/7/22, at Peterlee Bus Station, whilst operating Service 22 from Sunderland to Durham. The vehicle is allocated to Durham Belmont Depot, but was previously with Arriva London North as VLA155.
Reg. No: LJ55BRZ
Fleet No: 7427
Chassis: Volvo B7TL
Body: ADL ALX 400
Company: Arriva North East (previously with Arriva London North as VLA155)
Brand: Max
Year in Service: 2005 London. 2016 ANE.
Location: Peterlee Bus Station, Co. Durham
Something i have learnt today about these Cravens units is that they have the identical side profile, the same windows and doors to MK1 coaching stock!
Entrusted to working the days Stockport-Stalybridge shuttle services, standing in Stockport's platform 3a is a hybrid unit that had a bit of a following around the Manchester area, it comprised of a 1958 built Cravens class 105 DMCL (M53812) and a 1957 Gloucester built class 100 DMBS (M53355), both cars were asbestos free which was the reason they were the last of their class in service, they were withdrawn towards the end of 1988.
In May 1989 after the Windsor Link in Salford opened this service disappeared, becoming a Parliamentary or Ghost train, that runs once a week (May 2015) on a Friday at 09.22 from Stockport in one direction only,
9th January 1988
Modified to make the shot much older and more period looking...
Standard Atlantean 8758 (A758 NNA) is seen here recreating a shot where she would have been entering Crook Street depot after running the last 22 from Stockport in the late eighties...
A test version of the universal stage adapter for NASA’s more powerful version of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Feb. 22 from Leidos in Decatur, Alabama. The universal stage adapter will connect the rocket’s upgraded in-space propulsion stage, called the exploration upper stage, to NASA’s Orion spacecraft as part of the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket. It will also serve as a compartment capable of accommodating large payloads, such as modules or other exploration spacecraft. The SLS Block 1B variant will debut on Artemis IV and will increase SLS’s payload capability to send more than 84,000 pounds to the Moon in a single launch.
Credit: NASA/Sam Lott
#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #artemis
5/2022 - Hollidaysburg, PA
A few new shots of Curry Rail's new facility at the former Watco car shop. This is on the other side of Rt 22 from the former Conrail/PRR car shop.
152 of these railcars were built by McKeen Company of Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A between 1904 and 1930. Powered by a six cylinder petrol engine ( 200 hp.) they were cheaper and more powerful than battery-powered vehicles, more flexible than steam locomotives and could operate at competitive speeds.
A distinctive feature of the railcar was a knife shaped or "windsplitter" nose, a rounded rear end, entry doors in the centre and round porthole windows along both sides. It slightly resembled a submarine on wheels. Two lengths, 55 and 70 feet (17 and 21 m), were offered, and both could be configured with either a large or small mail sorting area ahead of the center doors, or fully fitted with seats, which provided a maximum passenger capacity of 64 or 105 respectively.
The McKeen was popular between 1915 and the 1930s throughout the United States, the cars were featured on the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific, also exported to Australia and operated by Victorian Railways
The Nevada State Railroad Museum has completed restoration of McKeen railcar number 22 from the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The original engine and transmission did not survive, they had always proved very unreliable, replaced with a modern engine and drive system which allows the railcar to transport museum visitors on its 14 mile track. ( carsonrailroadmuseum.org )
( thanks to Steve, Jeff Wharton and Lesley Doubleday for re enactor photo and carsonrailroadmuseum.org for rail motor photo )
Michael Hess, operations integration manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, monitors the countdown during a dress rehearsal in preparation for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide onboard, Sunday, April 18, 2021, in firing room four of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet, and Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
From left to right, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet pose for a photo after arriving at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center ahead of SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission, Friday, April 16, 2021, in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet, and Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 6:11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)