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One of the Biggest Sunspots of the Entire Solar Cycle is Now Earth-Facing
Friday, November 8, 2013 1:17
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Massive Sunspot AR1890 is now almost directly facing Earth. Any eruptions coming from this behemoth in the next few days will be geo-effective on the day lit side of the planet.
The Spot has the beta-gamma-delta magnetic field that has enough energy to produce X-class flares.
According to NASA, the sun emitted an intense solar flare in the early hours of Friday. The “X-class” solar flare is the most intense class of flares, and NASA expects to see plenty of activity as the sun reaches solar maximum.
Solar maximum is the normal peak of solar activity during the sun’s 11-year cycle. At 4:01 a.m. EDT on Friday, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO, observed an X1.7 class solar flare. According to NASA, the intensity scale of X-class flares starts at X1; an X2-class flare is double the strength of an X1 and an X3 solar flare is triple the intensity of an X1. During the current solar cycle, researchers observed an X6.9 solar flare on Aug. 9, 2011.
An X-class solar flare as well as a coronal mass ejection, CME, won’t affect humans on Earth as the particles cannot penetrate the planet’s atmosphere, but these intense solar events can cause radio and satellite blackouts. Such was the case with Friday’s solar flare.
NOAA estimates the chance of flares over the next 24 hours at 45% for an M-class and 10% for an X-class.
Todays sunspot number is 148.
There is a coronal hole on the Earth side of the Sun and the solar wind flowing from it will arrive on November 10-11th.
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
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