Earth orbiting satellites have just detected an X1-class solar flare from Earth-facing sunspot AR2887.
The blast at 1535 UT on Oct. 28th created a massive tsunami of plasma in the sun’s atmosphere:
Coronal mass ejection (CME) related signatures
The explosion also hurled a CME into space. Coronagraph images are not yet available, but evidence for a CME is already pursuasive.
The USAF reports strong Type II and Type IV radio emissions generated by a CME plowing through the sun’s atmosphere.
In addition, energetic particles accelerated at the leading edge of a CME have already reached Earth.
When will the CME itself arrive? Assuming that it is Earth directed, probably on Oct. 30th or 31st. Fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs will allow a more precise forecast, so stay tuned.
R3: Strong Radio Blackout
During the flare, a pulse of X-rays and extreme UV radiation ionized the top of Earth’s atmosphere, causing a strong shortwave radio blackout centered on South America:
Aviators, mariners, and ham radio operators on the daylit side of Earth may have noticed strange propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz.
X-class solar flares
The most powerful X-class flares can interfere with radio and satellite communications and supercharge the planet’s aurora displays when they are aimed directly at Earth and accompanied by a massive eruption of solar particles, called a coronal mass ejection.
Such eruptions send charged particles out from the sun at a whopping 1 million mph (1.6 million kph) or more, and typically take a few days to reach Earth.
Sunspot AR2887 is not finished yet
Thursday’s flare originated from a sunspot called AR2887 currently positioned in the center of the sun and facing the Earth.
It has already produced two M-class flares and an X-flare today. The active region is directly facing Earth, so any additional eruptions should be geoeffective.
The coronal mass ejection from a Tuesday flare up of AR2887 could deliver a “glancing blow” to Earth sometime on Friday (Oct. 30).
The sun is in the early days of its current solar activity cycle, each of which lasts 11 years. The current cycle, called solar cycle 25, began in December 2019. [NOAA, SpaceWeather, Space]
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You should really subscribe to QFiles. You will get very interesting information about strange events around the world.
Ha, the idiot neighbors run ham radio. Hope it fried their radios. A family of inbred heathen retards. Like The Texas chainsaw massacre meets Deliverance.
Everybody hates them too. Hopefully some of that Holy Lightning, that hit george floyd mural, will hit their house. When we had that huge storm, one bolt came down, and it was enormous width and size. I missed the picture by a fraction of a second, but it may have been the largest strike I ever saw.