Solar Flare of May 12 and May 13, 2013

      According to space weather experts, a hyperactive spot on surface of the sun has fired off two of the most powerful solar flares of the year in simply 24 hours, and is showing promising signs that it will unleash more solar storms over the course of the next several days. The active sunspot has actually went on overdrive on Mother's Day when it had erupted late Sunday night (May 12) with an X-class solar flare, which is the strongest type of solar storm possible, said NASA scientists in an update.

The sun had erupted with an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013. The flare had appeared as a bright point on the left of the sun in this full-disk view of NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory. It is a blend of two images of the sun recorded at different wavelengths of light

      This giant solar flare, which is categorized and registered as one of the largest eruptions the sun can unleash, had peaked Sunday night at 10:17pm EDT (02:17 GMT) and was captured on camera by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It had sparked an hour-long high-frequency radio blackout, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Shortly after, on May 13, another eruption had followed midday on Monday by an even more powerful X2.8 solar flare, which is the third-strongest solar storm in reent years. A video of the huge solar flares seen together can be shown here.
       The Mother's Day solar flare had sent a super-hot wave of solar plasma, known as a coronal mass ejection, hurtling through space at about 2.6 million mph (4.3 million km/h). The second flare on Monday is known to send solar plasma streaking through space at a rate of 4.3 million mph (6.9 million km/h). However, the solar eruptions were not aimed at Earth so should not be posed as a threat to satellites and astronauts in orbit, claimed by NASA officials.

On May 13, 2013, an X2.8-class flare had erupted from the sun, the strongest flare of 2013 to date. This NASA image shows a close-up of the flare as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in the 131 angstrom wavelength

The World's First Solar-Powered Helicopter Takes Flight

      As projects like the Solar Impulse and NASA's Helios wing has been recently developed, the idea of propelling aircraft using solar power isn't as fanciful or impossible to accomplish as it seemed before, even if they are still in experimental stages. Before long, we'll surely be able to see solar power used to aid traditional airplanes, even if it is not accompanied by main fuel.
     To show what is possible, a team of master students from the United Kingdom have built what they believe to be called the world's first "solar-copter," a quadrotor that flies solely on solar power. At the moment, it is capable only of short flights but the team had claimed that it should fly longer soon, once they enabled it to have a storage system as well.

     "The Solar-copter is a quadrotor design that incorporates a solar panel providing the power for the propulsion system," the six students had commented. "It is controlled in the same way as a standard battery-powered quadrotor. Optimum thrust-to-weight ratio was mainly achieved through an efficient propulsion system, unique frame design and an optimized solar panel."

     Future versions may be useful in activities such as surveillance, search and rescue, and tracking animal migrations, perhaps in Africa, Australia, Middle East, and Southern Europe, where there is more sun than in England. Its technology could also help increase the range of conventional choppers, and perhaps give other solar aircraft, such as the Solar Impulse, better maneuverability and control.

Solar-Powered Plane's Cross-Country Flight

        Researchers at Moffett Air Field at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, announced on March 28 that Solar Impulse, an ultra-lightweight plane solely powered by solar power, is planned to fly coast-to-coast this spring. The plane is claimed to require no fuel and solely rely on solar panels and battery power.
        Two Swiss pilots of the Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, desire to complete a flight beginning from Moffett Field to New York City. Along the way, it is planned to stop by in the following locations: Phoenix, Arizona, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington, D.C., and either Nashville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, or St. Louis. The plane is set to fly on May 1 and plans to land in the Big Apple in early July.
         Solar Impulse has a wingspan equivalent to a 747 jetliner, the weight of a station wagon, and the power needs of a small scooter. The solar panels across its wings harness power from the sun during the day, and lithium-polymer batteries store that energy for overnight trips. A carbon-fiber material formed in a honeycomb structure makes up the bulk of the plane, which allows for its feather-weight.
        In 2010, the plane completed a 26 overnight-hour flight and in 2012, it flew from Switzerland to Morocco with no fuel.