This page is a supplement to my new book ‘Exploring Space Weather with DIY Magnetometers‘, which is avalable at Amazon by clicking [HERE]. This $8.00 B/W book contains 146 pages and has 116 illustrations and figures that describe six different magnetometers that you can build for under $60.00. I will be posting updates to my magnetometer designs on this page along with new storm data examples as the current sunspot cycle progresses. For convenience, the sections below are tied to updates to the corresponding chapters in the book. In each instance, I have compared my design data for the magnetic D-component (angular deviation from True Geographic North) to the corresponding data from the Fredericksburg Magnetic Observatory (FRD) in Virginia.
What is Space Weather?
Chapter 2: Earth’s Magnetic Field
Chapter 3: Basic Soda Bottle Designs (under $10.00)
A soda bottle design that detects the daily Sq ionospheric current. Black is the soda bottle data and red is the FRD observatory D-component data. I used an 8-meter separation for the laser spot to get the best sensitivity.Soda bottle measurements (black dots) and FRD magnetometer data (red line) for the Kp=4 storm on July 14 (blue bar). Also shown are the diurnal Sq deviations that occur during the daytime (yellow bars sunrise to sunset). The Kp=4 event was barily visible above the Sq deviation which was also maximal near the time of the afternoon storm. Note that the soda bottle measurements do follow the magnetic D-component deviations seen by the FRD magnetic observatory, which again testifies to the accuracy of the soda bottle system using an 8-meter separation.
Chapter 5: A Dual Hall Sensor Design ($20.00)
Figure 72. Black is the instrument data and red is the FRD observatory data.Figure 5.6 Sq effect. Black line is the instrument data and red line is the FRD observatory data.
Chapter 6: The Smartphone Magnetometer
Figure 6.11. Example of smartphone data (dots) and the Kp index (gray bars). Smartphone data roughly correlates with geomagnetic storm severity near Kp=3-4.
Chapter 7: The Photocell Comparator ($40.00)
Fig 7.23. Black is the instrument data and red line is the FRD observatory data. The pronounced dip is the diurnal Sq effect.Fig 7.26. Black line is the instrument data. Red line is the FRD observatory data. A Kp=4 geomagnetic storm occured between 30-33 hours.
Chapter 8: The Arduino Magnetometer with the RM3100 sensor ($60.00)
Fig 8.35 Sq effect seen by the instrument (black line) and the FRD observatory (red line).Data for the RM3100 (black) and the FRD magnetic observatory (red line) during the Kp=4 geomagnetic storm on July 14 (blue bar). This event, as for the plot from the soda bottle system shown above, was barely seen above the Sq current deviation for July 14 which was clearly seen during the daytime (yellow bar). Note, however, that the RM3100 follows very accurately the magnetic D-component deviations seen by the FRD observatory.
An astronomer's point-of-view on matters of space, space travel, general science and consciousness
