Sunspot Complex
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE (UPDATED) : A big and very active sunspot complex emerged over the sun’s northeastern limb yesterday. It has already produced an X1-class solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast on April 17th at 03:34 UT:
Sunspot Complexhttps://t.co/CAPUcf9zlC pic.twitter.com/ch3qdmzyIO
— The Tishbite (@Tishbite_redux) April 18, 2022
A pulse of X-rays from the flare produced a strong shortwave radio blackout over southeast Asia and Australia: map. Mariners, aviators, and ham radio operators may have noticed unusual propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz.
Update: New images from SOHO confirm that the explosion hurled a CME into space: movie. The bulk of the CME will miss Earth, passing behind our planet in its orbit around the sun. However, there might be an Earth-directed component. NOAA analysts are looking into this now.
Active sunspot group AR2993-94. Photo credit: Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France pic.twitter.com/idahqZUSs3
— The Tishbite (@Tishbite_redux) April 18, 2022
Meanwhile, get ready for more flares. This sunspot group has been active for more than a week, hurling CMEs and plumes of plasma into space from its location on the farside of the sun. Now it is turning to face Earth and shows no signs of slowing down.
X Class Solar Flare, Biggest Sunspots, Disaster Science | S0 News Apr.17.2022 (3 min)