Solar Flare Alert: Massive CME Threatens Radio Blackouts and Dazzling Auroras
The Sun decided to throw another warning shot at Earth, this time with a powerful flare from sunspot region AR4436 triggering radio blackouts in certain regions, while sending coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth, raising the odds of northern lights in parts of the U.S. and U.K. this week.
The flare, measured at M5.7, sits below the rare X-class eruptions that produce the Sun’s most intense outbursts, but it was still intense enough to disrupt high-frequency radio traffic over the Atlantic and parts of eastern Africa.
Now that the radio blackouts are mostly past, folks are turning their attention to the incoming CME. The ejection—racing here at roughly 400 miles per second—is expected to graze the atmosphere this week, possibly as soon as tonight (Tuesday), which could be enough to brighten auroral activity if the geometry lines up. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.K. Met Office both...
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