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<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=#ff0000><STRONG>RADIO-ACTIVE
SUNSPOT: </STRONG></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Sunday in new Mexico, a startling roar issued from the
loudspeaker of amateur astronomer </FONT><A
href="mailto:ashcraft@heliotown.com"><FONT face=Tahoma>Thomas
Ashcraft</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma>'s radio telescope. "It was sunspot 1057,"
he says. "<STRONG>All day long it had been producing small radio bursts around
<U>21 MHz</U>. Then, at 1813 UT, it let loose a big one. The burst only lasted a
minute, but it saturated the radios</STRONG>." </FONT><A
href="http://www.heliotown.com/201003281813ut2123Ashcraft.mp3"><FONT
face=Tahoma>Click here to listen</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma>.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Rogerio-Marcon-2010-03-28_10-24-20_highResolution_SW_1269817667.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma><IMG height=271
src="http://spaceweather.com/swpod2010/29mar10/Rogerio-Marcon1_strip.jpg"
width=360 border=1></FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG>Photo
credit:</STRONG> Rogerio Marcon of Campinas, Brazil [</FONT><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Rogerio-Marcon-2010-03-28_10-24-20_highResolution_SW_1269817667.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma>details</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma>]</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The sounds you just heard were a mix of </FONT><A
href="http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/typeIII.html"><FONT
face=Tahoma>Type III</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> and </FONT><A
href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1967ApJ...150.1081W"><FONT face=Tahoma>Type
V</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> radio emissions. They're caused by beams of
electrons shooting out of the sunspot into the sun's atmosphere overhead. Not
all sunspots produce radio emissions, but AR1057 is definitely "radio-active."
"I<STRONG>'ll be listening for more bursts in the days ahead</STRONG>," says
Ashcraft.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>You can, too, using <EM>your own</EM> radio
telescope. NASA's </FONT></STRONG><A
href="http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/"><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>Radio
JOVE</FONT></STRONG></A><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG> program will sell you a kit
and teach you how to become an amateur radio astronomer all for less than
$200.</STRONG> </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG>more images:</STRONG> </FONT><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Eric-Roel.-AR-1057-del-27-y-28-de-marzo-del-2010-an_1269820890.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma>from Eric Roel</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> of Valle de Bravo,
Mexico; </FONT><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Phillip-Jones-Sunspot-1057_800px_1269816227.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma>from Phillip Jones</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> of Frisco, Texas;
</FONT><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=John-Minnerath-Mar-28-2_1269808853.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma>from John Minnerath</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> of Crowheart
Wyoming; </FONT><A
href="http://www.spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Francisco-A.-Rodriguez-4472136727_9a4cf977f1_o_1269857791.jpg"><FONT
face=Tahoma>from Francisco A. Rodriguez</FONT></A><FONT face=Tahoma> of Cabreja
Mountain Observatory, Canary Islands;</FONT></P></BODY></HTML>