Aurora Alert... A powerful X-class solar flare erupted from sunspot 792 this morning at 06:35 UT, or 12:35AM MDT. SOHO coronagraph images are not yet available, so we don't know if the blast produced a coronal mass ejection (CME). If it did, auroras are possible tonight or tomorrow when the CME reaches Earth. Sunspot 792, which rounded the sun's eastern limb yesterday, poses a growing threat for Earth-directed explosions--and that's not all. At least one more active region could emerge in the days ahead. Towering magnetic fields jutting over the sun's eastern limb--the same place sunspot 792 came from--signal a new batch of sunspots approaching. Area residents should keep watch over the next week as any of these explosions could trigger an auroral display (Northern Lights) across the northern tier of states. Storm Mountain residents were treated to a spectacular display last November from a similar X-Class explosion. Photos of this amazing display are available for purchase at: http://www.stormmountain.net/smg/prod02.htm |
