Today, the Space Weather Prediction Center had this to say about the flares and their impact on high frequency radio communications:Īfter producing a pair of R3 (Strong) Radio Blackouts in quick succession yesterday morning (10/1142 and 10/1252 UTC), active Region 2087 produced yet another R3 event today at 11/0906 UTC. Impacts from this activity were short lived and affected HF communications for the daylit side of Earth at the time of the flare. X-class flares are the strongest of all, and they are capable of producing radio blackouts on Earth. Solar flares occur when twisted magnetic fields suddenly release gargantuan amounts of energy, producing an explosion of radiation. Scientists say more may be coming in the days ahead - just as the region of the sun that's all hot and bothered rotates into a more Earth-directed position.
It's the intensely bright spot in the image above (with the Earth shown in the inset at bottom left to provide scale). (Source: NASA SDO) Following two very powerful explosions of radiation yesterday, the sun this morning let loose with yet another X-class solar flare. Aurora borealis and aurora australis can be seen in real time from NOAA’s website here.After yesterday's two powerful flares, a third one erupted from the Sun this morning, as seen in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. This allows solar wind to blow electromagnetic radiation into space at enormous speeds. The holes in the Sun’s corona consist of cooler, less dense areas of plasma they also have more open magnetic fields, which poses ongoing problems for us here on Earth. The Northern Lights occur when plasma from the Sun hits the Earth’s magnetic fieldĬMEs can, of course, take place anywhere on the Sun’s outer surface but if one happens when the Earth is on its direct path, the collision between the solar plasma and the magnetic field orbiting the Earth can cause a geomagnetic storm.īeautiful to look at from space – and also from Earth, while iridescent shades dance across the poles – these “solar storms” cause all sorts of chaos if they occur at the wrong times. Experts say there will be more such incidents in the coming years, with solar winds causing disturbances in our magnetic fields and the upper atmosphere on Earth to follow. Such cyclical events are in the normal pattern of our sun, which periodically emits huge flaming fingers of plasma into space. These include electromagnetic radiation, which is observed as solar flares. As these magnetic fields evolve, they can reach a point of instability and release energy in various forms.
Solar flares usually occur in active areas of the sun marked by the presence of strong magnetic fields. The increased level of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation results in ionization in the lower layer of the ionosphere on the sunlit side of the Earth.
The sudden burst of electromagnetic energy moves at the speed of light, therefore any effect on the sunlit side of the Earth’s exposed outer atmosphere occurs at the same time as the event is observed, according to NOAA. Solar flares are large bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the sun that last from minutes to hours. On the other hand, the light show tonight in the northern hemisphere might be memorable. NOAA said in its statement “Event analysis and model output suggest that CME will arrive around noon on October 11 (in the US) with long-term effects continuing into October 12.”Īurora borealis can be viewed online in real time from NOAA’s website. The solar flare event is considered to belong to those “moderately strong”, placed in category G2. If these happen, humans or computers on earth need to take action and redirect them properly. Satellites that we rely on for all types of telecommunications and navigation systems can be affected and suffer from what NOAA calls “orientation irregularities”. This orientation allows solar flares to have a direct impact on our satellites, power grids and electronics of any kind, as the electromagnetic forces exhibited by the flare strike the upper parts of the Earth’s atmosphere.Īccording to the NOAA declaration, there will be fluctuations in the electricity grid, which may even result in voltage alarms at the higher latitudes of the earth, in the northern hemisphere, where there is direct exposure to the flares. In addition to causing disruption to the world’s satellite-powered power supply and navigation systems, a positive aspect of the solar flares will be the appearance of the Northern Lights as far south as New York City.Īstronomers noticed the flare, or Coronal Mass Ejection, occurring Saturday on the side of the sun now facing Earth.