Could this be the first solar activity of Cycle 24? I hope so!

The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven't been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped over the sun's eastern limb on Dec. 11th, pictured below in a pair of images from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

It may not look like much, but "this patch of magnetism could be a sign of the next solar cycle," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center. For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000--2003.

"Solar minimum is upon us," he says.

Above: From SOHO, a UV-wavelength image of the sun and a map showing positive (white) and negative (black) magnetic polarities. The new high-latitude active region is magnetically reversed, marking it as a harbinger of a new solar cycle.

The big question now is, when will the next solar cycle begin? It could be starting now! "New solar cycles always begin with a high-latitude, reversed polarity sunspot," explains Hathaway. "Reversed polarity " means a sunspot with opposite magnetic polarity compared to sunspots from the previous solar cycle. "High-latitude" refers to the sun's grid of latitude and longitude. Old cycle spots congregate near the sun's equator. New cycle spots appear higher, around 25 or 30 degrees latitude. The region that appeared on Dec. 11th fits both these criteria. It is high latitude (24 degrees N) and magnetically reversed.

Just one problem: There is no sunspot. So far the region is just a bright knot of magnetic fields. If, however, these fields coalesce into a dark sunspot, scientists are ready to announce that Solar Cycle 24 has officially begun. Many forecasters believe Solar Cycle 24 will be big and intense. Peaking in 2011 or 2012, the cycle to come could have significant impacts on telecommunications, air traffic, power grids and GPS systems. (And don't forget the Northern Lights!) In this age of satellites and cell phones, the next solar cycle could make itself felt as never before.

The furious storms won't start right away, however. Solar cycles usually take a few years to build to a frenzy and Cycle 24 will be no exception. "We still have some quiet times ahead," says Hathaway. Meanwhile, all eyes are on a promising little active region. Will it become the first sunspot of a new solar cycle?

Stay tuned!

Today's Edition of Katy with a Y's favorite LOL Cats

Teddy? WTF???

So I was cleaning my room tonight, and I found my old teddy bear, "Teddy". I looked at him and thought, "What the hell happened to you???"

Let me tell you a couple of things about this teddy bear. First off... I still remember the first time I saw it. We were at a craft fair or flea market- something like that- and from the moment I laid eyes on Teddy... I knew I had to have him. The next thing I remember is throwing a complete hissy fit at my parents until they they agreed that it was worth $15 for me to shut up.

One more silly fun fact about me and teddy... I once tried playing hide-and-go-seek with just me and teddy. I hid him in the chest by our front door. I didn't find him again for over a month. What was my IQ at that age?? haha

I remember one incident for sure... my cousin's golden retriever, Sandy, got a hold of him once at the Cape house and gave him a good lickin'. However, WHEN THE FUCK DID HE GET AN AUTOPSY, HOW AND WHY???

Ideas? Theories? I'd love to hear them. Perhaps Teddy's sad history is buried deep in my subconscious... along with other childhood memories!!!

I'm giving a special award to whoever comes up with the best story!!!! (submissions due via blog comment 12/31/2007 11:59pm)

Today's Edition of Katy with a Y's favorite LOL Cats

Geminid Meteor Shower This Week!! Go outside and look up!!

Mark your calendar: The best meteor shower of 2007 peaks on Friday, December 14th.
"It's the Geminid meteor shower," says NASA astronomer Bill Cooke of the Marshall Space Flight Center. "Start watching on Thursday evening, Dec. 13th, around 10 pm local time," he advises. "At first you might not see very many meteors—but be patient. The show really heats up after midnight and by dawn on Friday, Dec. 14th, there could be dozens of bright meteors per hour streaking across the sky."

The Geminids are not ordinary meteors. While most meteor showers come from comets, Geminids come from an asteroid—a near-Earth object named 3200 Phaethon. How does an asteroid make a meteor shower? Comets do it by evaporating. When a comet flies close to the sun, intense heat vaporizes the comet’s "dirty ice" resulting in high-speed jets of comet dust that spew into interplanetary space. When a speck of this comet dust hits Earth's atmosphere traveling ~100,000 mph, it disintegrates in a bright flash of light—a meteor! Asteroids, on the other hand, don't normally spew dust into space—and therein lies the mystery. Where did Phaethon's meteoroids come from? One possibility is a collision. Maybe it bumped against another asteroid. A collision could have created a cloud of dust and rock that follows Phaethon around in its orbit. Such collisions, however, are not very likely.

If this scenario is correct, Phaethon-the-comet may have produced many rich streams of dust that spent hundreds or thousands of years drifting toward Earth until the first Geminid meteors appeared during the US Civil War. Since then, Geminids have been a regular shower peaking every year in mid-December.

Today's Special: Katy's Brain Diarrhea

I am bored at work today. I started my job two weeks ago so I don't have too much knowledge about anything yet to find something worth-while to do today. It's the day before Thanksgiving. All is quiet at 1340 Centre Street.


It's my burfday this Sunday, and I've started to notice crow's feet in the corner of my eyes!! I know I'm not old, but I'm not getting any younger!



I have exactly $12.61 in my checking account right now (and that's after I shifted the last of my savings' account money into my checking account!), and I'll need to take my container of change to Coinstar after work today so I'll be able to afford enough gas to get myself to Cape Cod later today. I've been spending a lot less money on unnecessary things recently, but I've been without a paycheck in three weeks thanks to my job transition. Those bills are still due regardless.



Last weekend, I took the telescope outside on a beautifully clear night in Chatham and pointed it towards Comet Holmes/17P. It was absolutely amazing! According to articles I've read over the last few weeks, the comet combined with it's debris field is larger than the sun! That's pretty gosh-darn impressive. I thought it looked like a jellyfish or a horseshoe crab through the telescope. It was white and fuzzy, and had a beautiful curve on one side of it. While I was outside, I also saw a great meteor streak by- almost a fireball it was so bright! Thank you Leonids!



I've been feeling really bummed lately about "losing" a friend of mine. He is an ex-boyfriend who I thought I was on good terms with, but he hasn't given me the time of day in almost two months, and it's really starting to bother me that he's written me off. I had a dream about him last night, and it was a beautiful dream. I ran into him on our street, and he ran up to me and gave me a huge long-lasting hug. It was one of those dreams we've all had... a beautiful dream we wake from and damn it to hell... it wasn't real. All I want is my friend back and to not feel like I've been forgotten.



I went to Medway yesterday, and spent all afternoon and evening in the recording studio for my band's new album. There's nothing like recording tracks for an album... it's like someone takes a big ass mirror and holds it up to your face so you can see every single imperfection and blemish. In the end, I finished recording my trombone parts for three songs and my vocals for one. Hopefully, that will be the longest and hardest day I have in the studio. I tried not to get frustrated, but I think everyone shares the same experience... oh wait... except for S.J. Tucker. She is amazing, and every single take of her vocal tracks were mind-blowing.



Also in band news, we're heading out to Goshen in western Massachusetts on Friday for a big party/DVD shoot. I have no idea what this is all going to look like, but it's going to be something like the band with all our friends around a bonfire having a blast... in the freezing cold. I have to decide what I'm going to wear exactly. Jason says we should all have a tribal look. I'm thinking all black and some crazy hair falls... somehow wearing enough layers to look both fabulous and stay warm. The party is also a four-way birthday celebration for Jason, Jake, Tiffany and myself. We're going to Sag-it-out, yo.



That is all the brain diarrhea for now, I think.



To end on a light note... check out this funny shit:

Today's "I can has cheezburger" favs!!!