Happy 4th of July to all

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Charles Bresnahan

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Jul 2, 2026, 9:47:17 AM (8 days ago) Jul 2

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A restless Earth-facing sunspot unleashed a powerful X-class solar flare on June 30, triggering radio blackouts across parts of North America.

The X1.1 solar flare erupted from sunspot region AR4479, peaking at 4:50 p.m. EDT (2050 GMT) according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The intense burst of X-rays released during the eruption reached Earth in just over 8 minutes, triggering strong (R3) radio blackouts across the daylight side of Earth. This mainly affected high-frequency radio users across parts of North America who may have experienced temporary signal degradation or brief communication outages while the flare was at its strongest.

The eruption also launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a huge cloud of magnetized solar plasma hurled into space. Initial observations suggested most of the material was traveling northward, limiting the chances of a significant Earth impact.

However, after further analysis, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a Moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm watch for July 3, indicating that at least part of the CME could land Earth with a significant blow