fr/spaceweather

X-FLARE: Earth-orbiting satellites have detected an X2-class solar flare from sunspot 1283. The explosion, which occured at 2220 UT on Sept. 6th, appears to have hurled a CME toward Earth. This is the second time today that sunspot 1283 has propelled a plasma cloud in our general direction (see also “Earth-directed Flare,” below). Stay tuned for estimates of their arrival times.

EARTH-DIRECTED FLARE: This morning at 0150 UT, sunspot 1283 produced an M5.3-class solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation:

Because of the sunspot’s central location on the solar disk, the eruption was Earth-directed–but is a CME heading our way? Around the time of the explosion, a number of plasma clouds were already billowing away from the sun, adding an element of confusion to the analysis. Tentatively, we expect Earth’s magnetic field to receive a glancing blow from a CME on Sept. 8th or 9th.