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X-Class Flare

Posted: 08-13-2011 10:18 AM
by voguy
SUN EMITS X-CLASS FLARE – COULD AFFECT HF PROPAGATION

Space Weather reports that on Tuesday August 9, at 0805 UT, sunspot 1263 produced an X7-class solar flare. Tis is only the third X-flare of new Solar Cycle 24 and the most powerful so far.

The brunt of the explosion was not Earth directed, however what’s being described as a minor proton storm was in progress around our planet that could have affected satellites in high-altitude orbits. Also, radiation from flare created waves of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere, briefly disrupting communications at some Very Low Frequency and High Frequency radio frequencies. What we hams call band outages.

According to Space Weather, images from NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory radioed back images to Earth showed a Coronal Mass Ejection emerging from the blast site on the Sun. Astronomers believe the solar cloud created by this C-M-E will probably miss Earth however they would not rule out a glancing blow from its flank on or about the time this newscast went to air.

(via: Space Weather & other ham radio sites)