Hi Everybody; Propagation has been rather good, especially on the lower bands, despite the fact that we are fast approaching the solar minimum. The sun just ended a 100 day and no sunspots period, with a tiny not yet named sunspot that appeared a few days ago on the eastern limb. The solar flux has fallen to below 70 and yet day after day propagation on shortwave radio bands has been rather good. The picture is from SOHO and it is a false color image that uses a wavelength that makes the corona visible in yellow. Usually the corona reflects solar particles that are now allowed to escape onto space. These particles interact with our planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field and create auroras and propagation. It seems like the sun is going into a hibernation cycle, very similar to the one that was recorded in the 17th century which also caused a mini ice age. But it looks like amateur radio operators can still find propagation even in times of very low flux!! Watch the RF-Seismograph for propagation for the North West of USA and Canada here: http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr/ All the best and 73; Alex – VE7DXW
Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3 Serial Number: 2722 Issue Time: 2017 Dec 21 1155 UTC CONTINUED ALERT: Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1000pfu Continuation of Serial Number: 2721 Begin Time: 2017 Dec 17 2100 UTC Yesterday Maximum 2MeV Flux: 4134 pfu www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation Potential Impacts: Satellite systems may experience significant charging resulting in increased risk to satellite systems.
