Space weather news and information for October 19, 2014: X1-CLASS SOLAR FLARE and EMERALD DYNAMITE AURORA.
X1-CLASS SOLAR FLARE
Sunspot AR2192 has unleashed an extreme X1-class solar flare recorded by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in this amazing UV picture. This flare created a strong HF radio blackout on the dayside of Earth, mainly over Asia and Australia. Moreover, the explosion probably hurled a CME into space (not confirmed yet), which should however not interact with earth:
EMERALD DYNAMITE AURORA
If this CME somehow grazes the earth, it will create amazing auroras like those observed on October 18, 2014 around the Arctic Circle, during a phenomenon known as “solar sector boundary crossings,” occuring when Earth passes through multiple folds in the heliospheric current sheet. Look at the image, called Emerald Dynamite, by Ole Salomonsen:
This is one of the most amazing aurora display I have witnessed in a long time.
