Major Solar Flare Erupts, More Possible
After four months of minimal activity, the sun is again waking up. It
produced a major solar flare today at 5:15 a.m. EST, according to NOAA’s
Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo. The flare emerged from one of
the largest sunspot areas of the sun to erupt in more than a decade. As
a result of this event, a strong radio blackout (R3 on NOAA’s space
weather scales) also occurred at 5:15 a.m. EST. Category R3 radio
blackouts adversely affect high-frequency radio communications and
low-frequency navigation signals on the sunlit side of the Earth. In
addition, aurora borealis, or northern lights, may be visible along the
northern tier of the U.S. over the weekend.
Forecasters also expect geomagnetic storms reaching minor to isolated
severe levels (G1 to G3 on the space weather scales) to occur during
March 30-April 1 as a result of recent Earth-directed coronal mass
ejections.
According to NOAA space weather forecasters, the sun has been showing
signs of increased activity in recent weeks. The sun goes through 11-year
cycles of activity and right now it’s in the period of high activity
called solar maximum.
Relevant Web Sites
* NOAA’s Space Environment Center
* NOAA’s Space Weather Scales
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/
* NOAA Space Weather Advisories
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/advisories/
* Today’s Space Weather Forecast — Includes the latest image of the sun
from Earth-based telescopes positioned around the world.
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/today.html
* Real-time images of the Sun from NASA’s SOHO Satellite
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html
* SPACE WEATHER — WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT?
http://www.spaceweather.noaa.gov/stories/sw2c.htm
* NEW NOAA SPACE WEATHER SCALES MAKE SOLAR MAX EFFECTS MORE PREDICTABLE
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s317.htm
Media Contact:
Barbara McGehan
NOAA Space Environment Center, Boulder, Colo.
(303) 497-6288
