Exotix
02-14-2011, 8:21pm
Earth 'in the crosshairs' of a solar explosion.
Powerful flare hurled from sun might create great display of northern lights.
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Earth 'in the crosshairs' of a solar explosion - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41587712/ns/technology_and_science-space/)
A powerful solar flare, hurled into space when superhot gases erupted on the sun Sunday, might cause a display of the aurora borealis for parts of the northern United States overnight Monday night.
The sun unleashed the solar flare yesterday at about 12:30 p.m. EST from a sunspot region that was barely visible last week.
Since then, it has grown in size to more than 62,000 miles across — nearly eight times the width of our Earth.
The flare was categorized by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado as a Class M6.6 and is the strongest solar flare observed in 2011.
It could ramp up northern lights displays for skywatchers living in northern latitudes and graced with clear skies.
Such a flare, covering more than 1 billion square miles of the sun's surface (called the photosphere), was described as "moderate" in intensity.
Class M flares are stronger than the weakest category (Class C).
They are second only to the most intense Class X solar flares, which can cause disruptions to satellites and communications systems and pose a hazard to astronauts in space.
NOAA's Prediction Center has forecast the possibility of additional solar flares from the same sunspot region over the next two or three days.
(Read continues in Link)
This striking aurora image was taken during a geomagnetic storm most likely caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun on May 24.
The ISS was located over the Southern Indian Ocean.
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/110111-FlarePhoto-hmed-0230p.grid-6x2.jpg
Powerful flare hurled from sun might create great display of northern lights.
Just In
Earth 'in the crosshairs' of a solar explosion - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41587712/ns/technology_and_science-space/)
A powerful solar flare, hurled into space when superhot gases erupted on the sun Sunday, might cause a display of the aurora borealis for parts of the northern United States overnight Monday night.
The sun unleashed the solar flare yesterday at about 12:30 p.m. EST from a sunspot region that was barely visible last week.
Since then, it has grown in size to more than 62,000 miles across — nearly eight times the width of our Earth.
The flare was categorized by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado as a Class M6.6 and is the strongest solar flare observed in 2011.
It could ramp up northern lights displays for skywatchers living in northern latitudes and graced with clear skies.
Such a flare, covering more than 1 billion square miles of the sun's surface (called the photosphere), was described as "moderate" in intensity.
Class M flares are stronger than the weakest category (Class C).
They are second only to the most intense Class X solar flares, which can cause disruptions to satellites and communications systems and pose a hazard to astronauts in space.
NOAA's Prediction Center has forecast the possibility of additional solar flares from the same sunspot region over the next two or three days.
(Read continues in Link)
This striking aurora image was taken during a geomagnetic storm most likely caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun on May 24.
The ISS was located over the Southern Indian Ocean.
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/110111-FlarePhoto-hmed-0230p.grid-6x2.jpg