Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X2-class solar flare on Feb. 23rd (1927 UTC). The source was just behind the sun’s northwestern limb–a location that will not allow it to send a CME toward Earth. However, a pulse of extreme UV radiation did cause a shortwave radio blackout over the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Space news
EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR FLARES
Fast-growing sunspot 3981 is directly facing Earth and crackling with strong solar flares. An M8.8-class explosion on Feb 3rd was only percentage points below category X. NOAA forecasters estimate an 85% chance of M-class flares and a 20% chance of full-fledged X-flares on Feb. 4th.
BIG SUNSPOT ALERT
A sunspot complex more than 500,000 km wide is crossing the solar disk and crackling with solar flares. In the past 24 hours alone there has been one near-X flare and a half-a-dozen shortwave radio blackouts. This sets the stage for a week of potentially high solar activity.