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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Massive X-5 Solar Flares Erupt For Two Days Back-To-Back.

We are currently experiencing repeated high-level solar flares.  The following is information that will explain a bit about what is going on.  Of course, not even the high-level scientists can predict when the Sun will send a solar flare from one of it's large holes or from a flinging filament.  Therefore, all I can give at this time is the information as I get it.  Always be prepared for a blackout or to experience the beauty of the Auroras the flares can bring.  As you will see below, there are people seeing the Auroras in states as low in latitude as Wisconsin.  So, an aurora could be coming to the sky near you...

Posted by the following YouTube Video poster:
Uploaded by eric1970x on Mar 6, 2012 MAJOR SOLAR FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected an X5-class solar flare from big sunspot AR1429. The blast peaked on March 7th at 00:28 UT. Radiation storms and radio blackouts are possible.

http://spaceweather.com/ 2012-03-07 01:03 Strong Solar Eruption; Earth-Directed CME Likely An R3 (Strong) Radio Blackout is now in progress, beginning about 7:00 p.m. EST today. The site of the eruption, previously active Region 1429, is now near center disk, so there's high-potential of an earth-directed CME. In addition, expect the imminent beginning of a Solar Radiation Storm. Analysis now occurring on both fronts, watch here for updates.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
Posted by


The Sun Today regarding the following YouTube video they posted:
Uploaded by thesuntoday on Mar 7, 2012 http://www.thesuntoday.org -

Sunspot group, AR11429 (Active Region), is at it again.

When it first began its journey across the Earthward side of the Sun it released an M-class flare, an X-class flare and several more M flares, along with several CMEs. Early on March 7, 2012 (00:24 UT) it erupted with an X5.4 flare, a coronal wave and a CME. Shortly after that (01:14) it erupted again with an X1.3 flare, another coronal wave and a CME. The CMEs were observed by the Cor2 coronagraph on STEREO Behind. Solar radio bursts also accompanied the flares and proton flux began to rise.

This proton event is probably due to both the flares and the CME produced shocks. Earth's magnetosphere is already disturbed due an early CME from AR11429 and it will probably feel at least a glancing blow from one or both of the recent CMEs in the next few days. We await more data and predictions from the various spacecraft and space weather research teams.

More is sure to come from AR11429. credit: NASA, ESA, NOAA, SDO, SOHO, STEREO, GOES, helioviewer.org, JHelioviewer and virtuallinda.com

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Posted by the following YouTube Video poster:
Uploaded by dutchsinse on Mar 7, 2012 This makes TWO large X-class solar flares in the past 2 1/2 days -- both earth directed... Solar flares of this size can cause communication disruption, power grid failures, and aurora borealis in places further south than normal. You can see the flare on the SDO site: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ Also worthy to note.. the SDO/green and SDO/HMI shots..... well... they show the sun THROUGH the supposed fly-by of the "planet"... This means (to me) that IF YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE DARKNESS , then , ITS NOT A PLANET PASSING IN BETWEEN the sdo and the sun... see the green shot and HMI shot on the SDO from 3/7/2012.


 From :SPACEWEATHER.COM


GEOMAGNETIC STORM UPDATE: A CME propelled toward Earth by this morning's X5-class solar flare is expected to reach our planet on March 8th at 0625 UT (+/- 7 hr). Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, who prepared the CME's forecast track, say the impact could spark a strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers at all latitudes should be alert for auroras. 

A mild geomagnetic storm is already underway, following a lesser CME impact on March 7th around 0400 UT. Shortly after the cloud arrived, a burst of Northern Lights appeared over the US-Canadian border. Shawn Malone photographed the display from the shores of Lake Superior:
"I was lucky to catch this brilliant outburst of aurora activity that was very active for close to an hour," says Malone, who has also made a time-lapse video of the display. "The aurora had no problem shining through the moonlit skies."

more images: from Eric Frigon of Banff National Park , Alberta, Canada; from John Welling of Ashland,Wisconsin; from Justin Phillips of New Auburn, Wisconsin

MAJOR SOLAR FLARE (UPDATED): Big sunspot AR1429 has unleashed another major flare. This one is the strongest yet, an X5-class eruption on March 7th at 00:28 UT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme UV flash:
This eruption hurled a bright CME into space, shown here in a movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab estimate that the CME will reach Earth on March 8th at 0625 UT (+/- 7 hr), possibly triggering a strong-to-extreme geomagnetic storm. An animated forecast track shows the progression of the fast-moving cloud.

The flare also accelerated energetic protons toward Earth, triggering an S3-class solar radiation storm, in progress. Such a storm is mainly a nuisance to satellites, causing occasional reboots of onboard computers and adding noise to imaging systems.

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