Solar flare that accompanied a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Tuesday will have limited effect on Earth's magnetic field A violent solar eruption that blasted an estimated billion tonnes of material into space has been caught by cameras trained on the sun. The eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection, was accompanied by a solar flare that emerged from a sunspot on Tuesday. The event was captured by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory and other telescopes. The US space agency said a large cloud of particles mushroomed upwards and then fell back onto the sun, covering almost half of the solar surface. The eruption spewed particles into space at a speed of 1,400 kilometres per second. The blast, which was not directed straight at Earth, is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on Wednesday evening or Thursday. The arrival of the highly energetic particles is likely to boost auroras at high latitudes, but no adverse effects are expected to technical equipment. More powerful solar events can unleash bursts of radiation that disrupt satellites, power stations and communication systems. Alan Thomson, head of the geomagnetism team at the British Geological Survey, said the event ... The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare with a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface. The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011 from sunspot complex 1226-1227. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface. If you've ever stood in front of a hot stove, watching a pot of water and waiting impatiently for it to boil, you know what it feels like to be a solar physicist. News flash: The pot is starting to boil. As 2011 unfolds, sunspots have returned and they are crackling with activity. On February 15 and again on March 9, Earth orbiting satellites detected a pair of "X-class" solar flares -- the most powerful kind of X-ray flare. The video above is of a M 3.6, or what passes for a rather large, solar flare spewing forth from the Sun. It took place on February 24, 2011 and lasted for over 90 minutes. This is actually a time-lapse of the flare, with images taken every 24 seconds and then put together in this [...] Sun storm sends radiation flying into space; satellites vulnerable. The aurora may be visible for several nights as Sun storm brews Stargazers in Britain may witness the extraordinary lightshow of the aurora borealis over the next few nights as particles blasted out of the Sun slam into the atmosphere. The rare opportunity to see the celestial spectacle follows a storm on the Sun that has produced the most powerful solar flare in four years. The storm generated at least three solar flares, the most intense of which was detected shortly before 2am Tuesday morning and came from a growing sunspot called 1158. The flares were accompanied by an eruption on the Sun called a cornonal mass ejection that is directed at Earth. These violent eruptions can hurl a billion tonnes of particles into space at a time. Displays of the Northern Lights have already been seen further south than usual, in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK, according to the British Geological Society. The society warned the eruptions could threaten power grids, communications and satellites. In 1989, a coronal mass ejection played havoc with power networks in Quebec, tripping out transformers and leaving six million people without power. The Sun's activity rises and falls over an ...
Key Words: solar flare 2011
References:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jun/08/threat-earth-solar-flare
http://online.wsj.com/video/solar-eruption-could-disrupt-communications/95B6C0C3-0834-4CE6-9F15-661040297F8D.html
http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dYTZ_WHCmds/110607171838.htm
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/milkandcookieslatest/~3/0LbORFKddCc/
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/nsfc-twp041511.php
http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/this-is-what-an-m-3-6-rather-powerful-solar-flare-looks-like-20110228/
http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=e172d50114ea2c7f079082dbe19ef9e2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/16/astronomy-space
http://pixelhat.net/
