Sun Unleashes Most Powerful Solar Flare in Years

[Sowelu]

(Dated posting, apologies)
 

M5 SOLAR FLARE: Active sunspot 1121 has just unleashed one of the brightest x-ray solar flares in years, an M5.4-class eruption at 15:36 UT on Nov. 6th. Click on the image to view a movie of the blast from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (allow time to load Quicktime for viewing):

Radiation from the flare created a wave of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere that altered the propagation of low-frequency radio waves. There was, however, no bright CME (plasma cloud) hurled in our direction, so the event is unlikely to produce auroras in the nights ahead. This is the third M-flare in as many days, and the strongest, from this increasingly active sunspot. So far none of the eruptions has been squarely Earth-directed, but this could change in the days ahead as the sun's rotation turns the active region toward our planet. Now might be a good time to sign up for space weather alerts.



Found here on November 6, 2010

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Sun Unleashes Most Powerful Solar Flare in Years

Nov. 9, 2010
Space

A major solar flare erupted from the sun Saturday — one of the most powerful in years — sending an energetic blast of X-rays from a hotspot of activity that may still belch more solar storms in the days to come.

Image: This image of the active sunspot group 1121 on the sun shows the solar hotspot as a bright white region
            in the lower left as seen by the sun-watching SOHO space observatory on Nov. 5, 2010. (NASA/SOHO)

The X-ray blast occurred Nov. 6 at about 11:36 EDT (1536 GMT) from an active group of sunspots called 1121. It was the third major flare from the solar hotspot and registered a Class M 5.4 on the scale for sun storms, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center operated by NOAA. [Photo of Sunspot Group 1121]

"Astronomers who study the sun have five categories of flares: A, B, C, M and X," explained SPACE.com's skywatching columnist Joe Rao. "The M and X flares are the most potent types and the one that erupted [Saturday] was an M 5.4 which is just about the most powerful flare we've seen in many years."

At the time of the flare, sunspot group 1121 was on the limb, or the edge, of the sun's disk, so any cloud of electrified particles ejected by the flare would not reach Earth, Rao said.

"But as the sun rotates, this active region of the sun will be turned more and more toward the center of its disk ... it will be there around Nov. 12 to 13," Rao said. "If a similar M-class flare erupts around that time, we could be in line to see a very nice display of northern lights a day or two later when the cloud of electrified solar particles reaches Earth."

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this X-ray photo of the Sun early in the morning of Sunday, August 1st. The dark arc near the top right edge of the image is a filament of plasma blasting off the surface — part of the coronal mass ejection. The bright region is an unassociated solar flare.

The sun's surface erupted early Sunday, blasting tons of plasma into space — and right at the Earth. Astonishing new pictures from NASA show the giant flares and clouds of ionized gas erupting from the star.

According to the website Spaceweather.com, which monitors space weather and sky events, the radiation from the solar flare "created a wave of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere that altered the propagation of low-frequency radio waves."

Severe solar flare events can cripple satellites and pose a risk to astronauts in orbit, and also have the potential to knock out power grids on Earth. NASA recently began a project, called the Solar Shield, to provide early-warning alerts to electricity providers
to help limit damage to power utility infrastructure as a result of extremely powerful solar storms.

The sun is currently entering an active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle after a lull in activity.


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