[MFDXA] Big Sunspot Alert and Powerful Solar Flares in progress
JACK
73 & Gud DX
K4WSB /C6A VP2MSB
#1 DXCC 340/357
BIG SUNSPOT ALERT: When the weekend began, sunspot 4366 didn't exist. Now it is a behemoth almost 10 times wider than Earth. The sunspot's rapid growth is making it unstable and susceptible to flares. Indeed, it has already unleashed a triple-peaked M7-X1-M6 flare described below. More flares are in the offing. Get your alerts here!
POWERFUL SOLAR FLARES IN PROGRESS: New sunspot 4366 has an unstable 'delta-class' magnetic field that is crackling with strong solar flares. Earlier today it produced a M7-X1-M6 flare that collectively lasted more than 6 hours. X marks the spot in this snapshot from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere. This, in turn, caused a shortwave radio blackout centered on the South Atlantic, touching the edges of South America and Africa: map. Ham radio operators may have experienced loss of signal below 20 MHz for hours around 1230 UTC.
Is a CME heading for Earth? The jury's still out. First-look data suggest "no," but this conclusion may be overturned by fresh data from NOAA and SOHO coronagraphs. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
https://www.spaceweather.com
73,
Tony N2MFT, President
Mid Florida DX Association W4FDX
http://www.W4FDX.com/
DXCC/WAS/WAC/VUCC/IARU Card Checker and VE Coordinator
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