The Magic Lives


With the Bz component of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field turning southwards yesterday, an unexpected incoming stream from the sun was able to interact more intensely with the earth's magentic field , producing some fairly active auroral conditions overnight. The 'K' index numbers rose as high as '7'...a rare event, indicating a major disturbance. By dawn, much of the activity was winding down and the ensuing F2 MUF spike was not far behind.


I hope that you were one of the alert 6m operators (not me sadly) able to take advantage of the quick F2 lift. Several stations on the east coast were worked or heard in Europe (EA8, EA7, EA3, IK5, CT1, G3, EI4) while in the afternoon, lucky band-watchers found several loud KH6's to work.


Courtesy: http://www.on4kst.com/index.php

The 6m prop map reveals the unexpected level of mid-winter activity....as of Wednesday evening, the Bz is still pointing south and the K has risen to level 4.

What might Thursday bring?






Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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