Solar X-Class Flare in progress...again..

*edit - title change reflects new data..*

This doesn't happen very often, so if you want to check out some flare activity, now is your chance.

www.n3kl.org...

Look what's it doing to the HAARP magnemoters.

137.229.36.30...

Boulder Magnemoters

sec.noaa.gov...

Look at the LASCO C2 readings (blue background).
Try either the More LASCO C2 link or the animated LASCO C2 files.
Watch the flare start at about 1:00 UTC today. All the other readings are just as fascinating.

sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov...




[Edited on 23-10-2003 by kukla]

[Edited on 23-10-2003 by kukla]

The wave is coming, the evidence increases daily.

excellent post this is very interesting. Thanx for enlightening me with this thread

If I had the means and the time, I'd be catching the first flight to Northern Territories. The light show will simply be spectaculart today/tonight..

[Edited on 19-10-2003 by kukla]

Here's some nice pics from today..













[Edited on 19-10-2003 by kukla]

Good thread and a lot of good info

Thanks for the great info!
I have my scope out with solar filters, I'll see if I can get some pics.

Peace,
BG

Many thanks for the story and links! Interesting reading!

Looks like there is another X-Flare in progress up from an M the other day.


Check it out for yourself.

NASA SUN PAGE


What does this mean??? WOuldn't it be cool if there was a MEGA-FLARE in the works


That would be radical

[Edited on 10-22-2003 by CPYKOmega]

Wow! That's the strongest storm I've seen yet.

I did some reading yesterday and I guess sunspot 484 has grown to a size not seen in years.

www.spaceweather.com...

Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity
SDF Number 295 Issued at 2200Z on 22 Oct 2003

IA. Analysis of Solar Active Regions and Activity from 21/2100Z
to 22/2100Z: Solar activity increased to high levels today. The
disk and limb were very active during the period. Region 486
(S16E81) which was newly numbered today, produced several M-class
flares over the interval. The largest were an M9.8 x-ray event that
occurred at 22/2007 UTC, an M3.7, and two M1.7's. Region 484
(N04E13) produced an M1.4/Sn at 1511 UTC and an M1.2/Sn at 1601 UTC.

Moreover, 2 separate filament eruptions were seen on SOHO/EIT
imagery from the vicinity of this region spawning a partial halo CME
that appears to be Earth directed. Magnetic field remains
extremely complex, a beta-gamma-delta (with several delta
structures) through this north-south oriented spot cluster.
A slight growth in penumbral coverage was noted during the period.

www.sec.noaa.gov...

Wow, this hit the newswires. This was a significant solar event and it could get a whole lot more interesting. It seems there's another spot that has grown recently. Two large sunspot clusters..at the same time..?

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A strong geomagnetic storm was expected to hit Earth on Friday with the potential to affect electrical grids and satellite communications.

One of the largest sunspot clusters in years developed over the past three days and produced a coronal mass ejection, similar to a solar flare, at 3 a.m. EDT Wednesday, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The disturbance was expected to produce a geomagnetic storm rated G3. A G5 storm is the strongest.

The storm could make the aurora visible as far south as Oregon and Illinois.

A coronal mass ejection is an explosion of gas and charged particles into space from the corona, the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere.

A second sunspot cluster not yet visible from Earth could produce more geomagnetic storms in the next two weeks, NOAA said.

www.trib.com...





[Edited on 23-10-2003 by kukla]

Heads up tommorow...this iis now all over the newswires..

edition.cnn.com...

Also, NASA released this curious statement today..

NASA Scientists Dives Into Perfect Space Storm

Newly uncovered scientific data of recorded history's most massive space storm is helping a NASA scientist investigate its intensity and the probability that what occurred on Earth and in the heavens almost a century-and-a-half ago could happen again.

In scientific circles where solar flares, magnetic storms and other unique solar events are discussed, the occurrences of September 1-2, 1859, are the star stuff of legend. Even 144 years ago, many of Earth's inhabitants realized something momentous had just occurred. Within hours, telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe spontaneously shorted out, causing numerous fires, while the Northern Lights, solar-induced phenomena more closely associated with regions near Earth's North Pole, were documented as far south as Rome, Havana and Hawaii, with similar effects at the South Pole.

"Remarkably, science has documented solar events a hundred times more intense," said Dr. Bruce Tsurutani, a plasma physicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "But none of them interacted with the Earth in such a violent manner. What happened in 1859 was a combination of several events that occurred on the Sun at the same time. If they took place separately they would be somewhat notable events. But together they create the most potent disruption of Earth's ionosphere in recorded history. What they generated was the perfect space storm," he said.

www.nasa.gov...

been wondering if anyone would cite the
spaceweather.com...

where e-mail notice was sent that flare 484 (my lotto #)
was as big a Jupiter and for the next 2 weeks, another massive flare will be rotating into the observable disc of sun...possibly larger than #484 !!!

BUT, my concern...point of revelance...is that these are taking place during the 'special' Ramadan (oct-nov 25th)

strange things are happening at once....
the Ramadan --> having eclipses (nov 8-9)
the sol;ar CMEs & Super 'X' Flares

anyhow, good heads up
theres a few topics in this event...

riffraffalunas..yes the timing is very interesting. Something to keep in mind, if a state wanted to start aggressions somewhere and there was chance that satellite communication could go black... this could be a prime opportunity to cause all sorts of havoc.

They put this one on the news for a change. I guess they couldn't hide the facts this time.

I think this is the first report of any serious damage from the flares.

A $587 million environmental research satellite launched 10 months ago stopped communicating Saturday and is feared dead in space.

The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 2, nicknamed Midori 2, is a joint mission between the Japanese and U.S. space programs to monitor our planet's health from orbit.

Mission controllers did not receive Earth observation data from the satellite at 7:28 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Saturday when the craft flew over a ground station, officials with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

At 8:49 a.m., engineers checked the operational status of Midori 2 and found it was switched into a safe mode -- a condition in which all observation equipment is automatically turned off to minimize power consumption. This switch into the safing mode occurred due to an unknown anomaly.

www.spaceflightnow.com...

Did a solar flare take out SXI too?

www.sec.noaa.gov...

It hit we are still here
my cell worked all day yeaterday
my net conection is still working

nothing to see


big deal

2 more biggies today...

sec.noaa.gov...

Solar storm 'could spark catastrophe'

Scientists are warning a "perfect space storm" that occurred 144 years ago could happen again at any time with catastrophic consequences.

www.ananova.com...

The most recent one is several times greater in magnitude than the last few.