LOTS OF SOLAR FLARES: During the past 48 hours, monster sunspot AR2192 has unleashed seven M-class solar flares. The most powerful of the bunch (Oct 22nd at 0159 UT) was an M9-class eruption that almost crossed the threshold into X-territory. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash: UV radiation from the flare ionized Earths upper atmosphere, causing a brief blackout of HF radio communications on the dayside of Earth (e.g., parts of Asia and Australia). In addition, the explosion might have hurled a CME into space. Confirmation awaits the arrival of coronagraph data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Stay tuned for updates. More flares are in the offing. AR2192 has an unstable beta-gamma-delta magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful explosions. NOAA forecasters estimate at 65% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares on Oct. 22nd. - spaceweather
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:18:58 +0000
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