Space Weather - X Class Flares Possible

I don't get much of a chance to talk about space weather. But, we are in an active period when sunspots are the order of the day. And often, from those sunspots, coronal mass ejections of plasma gas protrude and blitz across the heavens at, well, astronomical speeds.

One of the largest sunspots in years is now within our view. At any moment, an eruption of those hot gases could spew out and actually reach earth's atmosphere in as little as 15 minutes.



According to the Space Weather Prediction Center:

2011-11-04 01:39   The First of a String?
NOAA 1339 produced an impulsive R3 (Strong) Radio Blackout at 2027 UTC (4:27 pm EDT) on November 3. If a CME occurred, chances are it is not earth-directed given the far eastern  eruption site on the solar disk. Stay tuned on that bit. The large, bright active region remains potent. Odds are good there's more to come.

X Class flares could result from some of those eruptions.

Here is a nice description of the three primary flares...

Scientists classify solar flares according to their x-ray brightness in the wavelength range 1 to 8 Angstroms. There are 3 categories: X-class flares are big; they are major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. M-class flares are medium-sized; they can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth's polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare. Compared to X- and M-class events, C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth.

Here is a chart of any flare activities and its strength.



It appears one has already achieved X Class status, causing a strong radio blackout as described above.

MS