Solar X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

onetimer

Veteran Member
It's been a while since we've had X class flare and this 1 comes from a very odd sunspot with mixed polarity. They called it

X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE:
Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected an X1-class solar flare (May 10th @ 1355 UT). The source is "mixed-up" sunspot AR3006, described below. Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean. Aurora alerts: SMS Text


A MIXED-UP MAGNETIC FIELD: Sunspot AR3006 is having an identity crisis. It is supposed to have a +/- magnetic field. Mostly it does. But deep inside the sunspot's primary core, the polarity is opposite: -/+. Note the circled region in this magnetic map of the sunspot from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:


The mixture of magnetic polarities makes this sunspot interesting and dangerous. When opposite polarities bump together, it can light the fuse of magnetic reconnection--the explosive power source of solar flares. If AR3006 flares today, it will be geoeffective. The sunspot is directly facing Earth. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text

 
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