Saturday, September 10th
- 4th Largest Recorded Eruption On Sun
Yesterday... Solar activity is very high. Earth-orbiting satellites have detected five X-class solar flares this week, including one X17 monster, which was released on Friday, September 9th. This was the fourth largest eruption of this type ever recorded. The Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is expected to arrive here on Earth tonight. The blast was not directed precisely at Earth but may strike a glancing blow to our atmosphere, with sparking geomagnetic activity and/or a display of the Northern Lights. NOAA forecasters say there's a 75% chance of more X-flares during the next 24 hours, possibly causing radio blackouts and radiation storms. An S2-class radiation storm is also underway. Solar protons are streaming past Earth at nearly light speed. These particles were accelerated toward us by the recent explosions at sunspot 798. Here on Earth's surface, we're safe from the protons, except perhaps in areas around Earth's magnetic poles. Astronauts onboard the International Space Station are safe, too, as long as they stay inside the station. Area sky-watchers are advised to keep watch, particularly after midnight, for possible auroral activity. An eruption from sunspot 798 last month sparked spectacular Northern Lights as far south as Colorado and Utah. Photos of this display can be seen at Spaceweather.com's, "August Aurora Gallery".
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