The Sun, as seen on Thursday, July 15, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "The river glistened like a path of diamonds in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: Two new sunspot groups this week provided increased solar activity. The average daily sunspot numbers this week rose 2.9 points to 18.9, and the average daily solar flux was up 6.4 points to 79.2. The predicted solar flux for July 15-21 is 80 on each day. The predicted planetary A index for July 18 is 8, followed by 5 for each day through July 22. The next rise in the planetary A index is July 23-25, when it is predicted to be 18, 12 and 10. On Wednesday, July 14, there was an interruption at in the portion of the STEREO image that faces Earth, but by early Thursday morning it was restored. Due to movement of the STEREO craft, as the gap closes on the far side, a new one facing Earth will begin in January 2011. Eventually, the two spacecraft will work their way around the Sun and return to their original position by 2024. Currently, the outlook for the near term looks good for HF propagation, with low geomagnetic indices and some moderate solar activity. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, July 16. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by Charles Dickens' The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (Chapter 6).