The sun has fired another blast directly at Earth. A class M8.4 solar X-ray flare just was just sent hurling in our direction at 12:44 PM (EST) today from sunspot (AR1429) again . This is a major flare that is just a couple of points short of an X-Class flare and it is directly facing Earth so we will feel it with full force. Our magnetosphere is already stressed from the recent barrage and this can’t make things any better. The chance of a strong geomagnetic storm is probable. This post will be updated as more details are determined. Sometime during the morning of March 12, a strong (K7 or higher) geomagnetic storm will arrive in the form of a magnetic cloud resulting from the full halo CME generated on March 9.
March 7th we predicted that a major solar flare would happen within 12-24 hours. It took 36 hours instead but an M6.3-Class flare has occurred from AR 1429 this morning. The resulting CME is directly facing Earth and will arrive March 11th or early March 12th. A major geomagnetic storm of Kp7 or greater will hit us potentially affecting radio, airline and GPS systems.
- Solar flares could cause “as much devastation as a tsunami” (telegraph.co.uk)
- Strong solar flares still shooting out from active spot on sun (foxnews.com)
Sunspot AR1429 has already sent two CMEs into space since it began turning earthward over the weekend. Neither CME is heading directly at Earth, but both are expected to hit our planet’s magnetosphere. NOAA forecasters predict the CME’s will create a 30% to 40% chance of geomagnetic storms during the next 24-48 hours.
- Powerful Solar Flare May Be Signal of More to Come (livescience.com)
GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm is in progress (Level 8 Class M) following the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) at approximately 12:15 UT on Sept. 26th. The Goddard Space Weather Lab reports a “strong compression of Earth’s magnetosphere. Simulations indicate that solar wind plasma [has penetrated] close to geosynchronous orbit starting at 13:00UT.” Geosynchronous satellites could therefore be directly exposed to solar wind plasma and magnetic fields. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for Northern and Southern Lights after nightfall.
4AM this morning and Earth directed. An X flare is the worst type of Sun eruption possible. This is a big one traveling on a fast solar wind.
UPDATED 8-10-11: The brunt of the explosion was not Earth directed. Radiation from the flare created waves of ionization in Earth’s upper atmosphere disrupting communications at some VLF and HF radio frequencies. Any further effects will surface tomorrow and the 12th.
In a spectacular solar display, the sun released one of the biggest solar explosions ever seen by human eyes today. A Class M CME was launched at Earth at approximately 2:41 A.M. EDT. The Royal Observatory of Belgium and other space monitoring agencies put out alerts that a major geomagnetic disrupting disturbance was headed towards Earth. Latest updates from NOAA indicate that it will not be a direct hit but will most likely affect the Earth to a slight degree. The arrival of the coronal mass ejection (CME) is projected for sometime tomorrow or on Jun 9th. This explosion comes just 2 days after another significant CME was launched from the Sun’s surface.
UPDATE 6-9-2011 (8:45 P.M. EDT): A geomagnetic storm is hitting the Earth right now – k=>5 which is moderate. The exact strength is not known at this time but power grids could be affected.
UPDATE 6-8-2011: Several countries in Europe are reporting that disruptions to power and communications grids could occur between 6 PM and over the next 24 hours. There are some discussions that flights could be diverted in certain areas. Please see newspaper report below:
- Solar flare threatens to disrupt Earth’s communications and power (telegraph.co.uk)
The Royal Observatory of Belgium is reporting that a “C4.1 flare erupted today June 1st around 17UT from NOAA AR 1226 and was associated with a CME and a coronal dimming. STEREO COR2 images indicate that this CME is directed towards Earth. Because of its higher speed this CME will most likely catch up with the CME that erupted earlier today. Expect disturbed geomagnetic conditions on June 4th when the CME interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field.”
We predict that this may also generate earthquakes greater than 6.0 or extreme weather conditions between the 5th of June and the 8th of June. Current location of these are not known at this time.
UPDATE 6-4-2011: The Solar CME has arrived and we have a volcano eruption (Chile), several earthquake swarms in Argentina and as we stated in yesterday we predict bizarre weather patterns to commence tomorrow and last over the next few days. Look particularly for odd weather on the West Coast of the U.S.
- Kamikaze comet plunges into the sun (cbsnews.com)