X-class solar flare!
According to SpaceWeather.com, "Giant sunspot AR1515 unleashed a strong X 1.1-class solar flare on July 6th at 2308 UT. Because Earth is well-connected to the blast site by solar magnetic fields, a fusillade of protons accelerated by the explosion might soon reach our planet. Stay tuned for updates."
This sunspot has been crackling with energy, and moderate-strength M-class flares, for days -- even before the Sun's rotation spun it our way.
This Wednesday, the 4th, it let loose with at least four coronal mass ejections (CMEs), one of which was expected to reach Earth tonight -- at about 0600 UT on July 7th, which would be midnightish EDT -- possibly bringing aurorae ... if only to those regions often visited by aurorae. (If you're subpolar and it's night, you might take a look -- we're at Kp = 5, "storm.") Yesterday, it had another stream of M- and weaker C-class flares, with the strongest I think at M 6.
An X-class flare, though, that might bring the Lights down thisaway, to those of us who have little chance of a viewing except during solar maxima. We'll see. (Or not. But if that Kp gets up to 7, I'll be out there looking north and cheering it on.) If not this time, well, there's another big sunspot cluster shaping up (at lower left) on the spinning-toward-us side.
Oh -- this latest flare is not really an electronics-frying event. But if your cellular or TV reception goes a little wonky, there's a chance that for once the problem is not your service provider.
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.
This sunspot has been crackling with energy, and moderate-strength M-class flares, for days -- even before the Sun's rotation spun it our way.
This Wednesday, the 4th, it let loose with at least four coronal mass ejections (CMEs), one of which was expected to reach Earth tonight -- at about 0600 UT on July 7th, which would be midnightish EDT -- possibly bringing aurorae ... if only to those regions often visited by aurorae. (If you're subpolar and it's night, you might take a look -- we're at Kp = 5, "storm.") Yesterday, it had another stream of M- and weaker C-class flares, with the strongest I think at M 6.
An X-class flare, though, that might bring the Lights down thisaway, to those of us who have little chance of a viewing except during solar maxima. We'll see. (Or not. But if that Kp gets up to 7, I'll be out there looking north and cheering it on.) If not this time, well, there's another big sunspot cluster shaping up (at lower left) on the spinning-toward-us side.
Oh -- this latest flare is not really an electronics-frying event. But if your cellular or TV reception goes a little wonky, there's a chance that for once the problem is not your service provider.
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.