Sunspot #720 may cause communications problems

[senorpepr]

Only a few days ago sunspot 720 was a barely-visible speck. Now it's a behemoth seven times wider than Earth. You can see it--but don't stare at the sun.

Several C-class flares overnight with an M-class just now occurring as the overall Xray Flux continues to climb since Wednesday night due to the rapid growth of sunspot 720 and it turning to give direct shots at the earth over the next several days. A powerful X-class explosion is likely thisweekend.

[senorpepr]

Latest impacts from NOAA over the past 24 hours.

Geomagnetic Storms: G2 (Moderate)

Power systems: high-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms, long-duration storms may cause transformer damage.

Spacecraft operations: corrective actions to orientation may be required by ground control; possible changes in drag affect orbit predictions.

Other systems: HF radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes, and aurora has been seen as low as New York and Idaho (typically 55° geomagnetic lat.)

Solar Radiation Storms: None

Radio Blackouts: B3 (Strong)

HF Radio: Wide area blackout of HF radio communication, loss of radio contact for about an hour on sunlit side of Earth.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for about an hour.

[senorpepr]

[Aslkahuna]

Region 720 produced a Proton flare earlier today that was followed by a Type II sweep burst with a shock speed of 1272 km/sec. There is very likely a CME enroute that could result in auroral activity if the geometry and polarity are right.

Steve

[Aslkahuna]

See my new post in Weather Watch

Steve

[senorpepr]

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=55911