See the ‘monster’ sunspot that launched the Carrington Event, the most devastating solar storm in recorded history

See the ‘monster’ sunspot that launched the Carrington Event, the most devastating solar storm in recorded history

On Sept. 1, 1859, British astronomer Richard Carrington was investigating a strange cluster of dark blobs in the sun's atmosphere when a bright blast of light caught his eye. Shining for nearly five minutes, the flash would later make history as the first recorded solar flare ever observed — but Carrington's name would ultimately become synonymous with the violent solar storm that slammed into Earth less than 48 hours later.

Big Bend in LaFayette

Big Bend, where US 20 takes a sharp turn to the south to make the steep hills the road must climb a little less steep.

Monday, Monday

Good morning! Monday’s come back around again. So it has. Mostly cloudy with haze and 65 degrees in Delmar, NY. β›… There is a south-southeast breeze at 6 mph. πŸƒ. The dew point is 65 degrees. The air quality index is a healthy 33. The muggy weather ends Thursday around 2 am. πŸ˜“

I’m out walking 🚢 though not as early as I would like as I have a bad case of the Monday’s plus there isn’t the smoldering cars around the High School 🚸 and I don’t have to iron my clothes before work. Decided to give my eyes πŸ‘€ a break for now and wear glasses πŸ‘“ for my morning walk 🚢 Plus I find the humidity to be kind of a demotivator to getting moving plus the eye issues I had over the weekend.

I started out this morning with a hard-boiled egg πŸ₯š to get some protein before the morning walk. πŸƒ I am been having too much sugar lately, and I besides boosting the fiber in my diet I am coming around the way of the keto folks on having more protein and fiber from eggs and other lower-calorie sources like certain beans and meats. Then for breakfast, I am going to pulverize some white beans and mix them in the cream of wheat with strawberries and blueberries. 🍡 While I don’t like overusing my food chopper, as I think food should be chewed not drunk, it does work good for hiding things like beans in your breakfast.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9am. Mostly cloudy 🌩, with a high of 81 degrees at 2pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 23rd. Maximum dew point of 71 at 12pm. South wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 93 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

We are stuck in that rather hot, humid unstable weather pattern β›ˆοΈ that is common this time of year. Could get soaked any minute type deal. Sucks for people that have this week off from work – used to be my usual choice though not in recent years as I like to break my summer up more. πŸ˜… Won’t make the evening walk fun but if it’s not raining, I might go down to the park and read for a while then do some steps as darkness approaches and it’s not as hot. πŸ“š As  At least the air quality is relatively good today, though we need to watch how much the Canadian wildfire smoke pushes in later in the day.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.7° from the due south horizon (-0.1° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today at noon time. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (304°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 28 seconds with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 3 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous πŸŒ” Moon in the south-southwest (213°) at an altitude of 37° from the horizon, 245,656 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 69 degrees. There will be a south-southeast breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 21 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 19 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy , with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Five degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 6pm. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies. It was humid. It got down to 61 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1970.

On this day in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. 🍩 Also, The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time in 1974 to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.πŸ›’

Cloudy and rain showers for Independence Day Weekend πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Saturday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 66 at 12pm. Sunday, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Maximum dew point of 67 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 83 degrees.

I’d like to get out of town this weekend 🚲 but finding a bicycle is a higher priority and it depends on the weather. I might look at bicycles at a few places on Saturday then camp β›Ί maybe in Schoharie and do the Mine Kill Pool 🏊‍♂️ maybe hammock camping. Depends on whether or not I get Monday off as a holiday. Actually I’m thinking the following weekend might be quieter and better for some lazy floating in the Adirondacks along Piseco-Powley Road. A lot depends on the weather. I might due Betty Brook but I worry I can get that campsite, though the little one is rarely taken as most people either go for the big lower site or the field site. Not sure. If it looks wet and I have a bike to ride, I might stay close to home and see what I can explore on the bicycle.

Looking ahead, there are 8 weeks until World Mosquito Day 🐞 when the sun will be setting at 7:50 pm with dusk at 8:18 pm. On that day in 2022, we had hot, partly sunny and temperatures between 88 and 70 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 82 degrees. We hit a record high of 98 back in 1916.

Kelley Stand Road