Biggest sun spot in 25 years releasing x-class flares
ANOTHER STRONG FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT: Super-sunspot AR2192 produced another strong flare on Oct. 27th. The X2-category blast ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused a strong HF radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean basin as well in South America and western Africa. The blackout started at ~10:15 am EDT (1415 UTC) and lasted for about an hour. Solar flare alerts: text, voice
GIANT SUNSPOT CRACKLING WITH FLARES: AR2192 is the biggest sunspot in nearly 25 years, and it is still growing. The active region now covers 2750 millionths of the solar disk, an area equivalent to more than 16 planet Earths skinned and spread out flat. It is so large that sky watchers are seeing it with the naked eye when the sun is dimmed by low-hanging clouds or, in this case, dense fog:
Barry Freas took the picture on October 26th from Red Hill, Kentucky. "It was a very foggy morning," he says. "AR2192 was remarkable."
Big sunspots tend to produce strong flares, and AR2192 is no exception. It is crackling with magnetic activity. Since the active region appeared on Oct. 19th it has unleashed 5 X-flares and a dozen M-flares. The most intense of these flares have caused HF radio blackouts and other communication disturbances on the dayside of Earth.
Usually, strong flares are accompanied by massive CMEs--billion-ton clouds of electrified gas that billow away from the blast site. So far, however, none of the eruptions from AR2192 has produced a major CME. Without a series of CMEs to hit Earth and rattle our planet's magnetic field, there have been no geomagnetic storms nor any widespread auroras.
More eruptions are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate an 85% chance of M-class flares and a 55% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Solar flare alerts: text, voice
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For its final trick, AR2192 is going to treat us by mimicking a Giant Skull," says Castillo, one of many readers who has noted the resemblance between the sunspot and a skeletal face. "Say Happy Halloween as it gets ready to turn away from us. "
As AR2192 approaches the sun's horizon, it is no longer facing Earth. However, the odds of an Earth-directed radiation storm are higher than ever. The reason is, the western limb of the sun is well-connected to Earth. Solar magnetic fields springing out of that region spiral back to our planet. If a sunspot passing through the area explodes, those spiralling magnetic fields can funnel energetic particles in our direction.
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