Major Flare X2.2 / Solar Update (February 14)

[Richard]

Massive Sunspot 1158 has produced a major X2.2 Class Solar Flare at 01:56 UTC Tuesday. This is the largest Solar Flare of Cycle 24 and a CME could be associated with this event. A strong R3 Radio Blackout has taken place as well. More to follow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe855QQTa-0
http://www.solarcycle24.com/index.htm

[ghostrider]

that's huge, we could have an earthquake on tuesday, could be a big one. peace

[nearing]

Today:

4.3-magnitude earthquake near Mount St. Helens is biggest in 30 years (http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/02/earthquake_near_mount_st_helens_was_biggest_in_30_years.html)

[shiva777]

this guy puts out some good info about what's up with that shiney spitty thing in the sky

http://www.youtube.com/user/thebarcaroller

[kersley]

@ Richard.
I hope you can answer these questions, if not maybe point me in the right diection?
The sun is light, light is information. it is also good for us, given us vitamin D in abundance. vital for bone growth and the brain.
The sun has been worshiped in many culture thrughtout the world. Why?
Is it possible the sun beam out rays which activate our DNA, but been told otherwise?
Why on a beautiful summers day, chemtrails block out the sun?
Why are they blocking me and you from getting the benifit of the sun?
Tell the masses that the sun is bad, give them sun block lotion so DNA can't be activated. what do you have?
I have just given you a good starting point to write a new book about our sun. Don't worry , you can keep all the rewards for yourself. i have all that i need in this present life. lol.
Cheers mate.

[taliesin]

Morning All.

Does anyone know what this means in terms of disruption? Will this cause the electrical system to blow? Should we be putting things in faraday cages? Storing more food and water? Getting cash out? Getting outta Dodge?

Thx T

[MorningSong]

Hello Taliesin! A 2.2X flare should not cause too much disruption here on earth (but solar activity appears to effect EQ and weather activity so that's another problem). Try a little googling....

From Wiki:


HAZARDS

Solar flares strongly influence the local space weather in the vicinity of the Earth. They can produce streams of highly energetic particles in the solar wind, known as a solar proton event, or "coronal mass ejection" (CME). These particles can impact the Earth's magnetosphere (see main article at geomagnetic storm), and present radiation hazards to spacecraft, astronauts and cosmonauts.

The soft X-ray flux of X class flares increases the ionization of the upper atmosphere, which can interfere with short-wave radio communication and can heat the outer atmosphere and thus increase the drag on low orbiting satellites, leading to orbital decay. Energetic particles in the magnetosphere contribute to the aurora borealis and aurora australis. Energy in the form of hard x-rays can be damaging to spacecraft electronics and are generally the result of large plasma ejection in the upper chromosphere.

The radiation risks posed by coronal mass ejections are a major concern in discussions of a manned mission to Mars, the moon, or other planets. Energetic protons can pass through the human body, doing biochemical damage,[4] and hence present a hazard to astronauts during interplanetary travel. Some kind of physical or magnetic shielding would be required to protect the astronauts. Most proton storms take two or more hours from the time of visual detection to reach Earth's orbit. A solar flare on January 20, 2005 released the highest concentration of protons ever directly measured,[5] taking only 15 minutes after observation to reach Earth, indicating a velocity of approximately one-third light speed, giving astronauts as little as 15 minutes to reach shelter.


Examples of large solar flares

The most powerful flare of the last 500 years was the first flare to be observed, on September 1, 1859, and was reported by British astronomer Richard Carrington. The event is named the Solar storm of 1859, or the "Carrington event". The flare was visible to a naked-eye, and produced stunning auroras down to tropical latitudes such as Cuba or Hawaii, and set telegraph systems on fire.[7] The flare left a trace in Greenland ice in the form of nitrates and beryllium-10, which allow its strength to be measured today (New Scientist, 2005).

In modern times, the largest solar flare measured with instruments occurred on November 4, 2003 (initially measured at X28 and later upgraded to X45).[8][9] Other large solar flares also occurred on April 2, 2001 (X20), October 28, 2003 (X17) and September 7, 2005 (X17).[10] In 1989, during former solar cycle 22 two large flares occurred in March, 6 (X15) and August, 16 (X20) causing disruptions in electric grids and computer systems.[11] A complete list is available at http://www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare

[taliesin]

Thankyou VERY much Morning Song. Love the name! Thats v good news, was trying to find out what the effects would be on the net but wasnt getting any more significant information. Sp that is really helpful ... and calming.

[Rocky_Shorz]

none of the normal data sources are live, but did find this one working out of Berkley to watch what is going on right now...

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/LATEST/current_c2small.gif