Sunspot AR 3883 has generated a powerful solar flare. It has already caused radio interference on Earth.
Powerful solar flare
The X-class solar flare occurred in the sunspot region of AR 3883 at 13:40 GMT on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6). Sunspots are dark, cold spots on the Sun that are the size of planets and show where the Sun’s strong magnetic field rises toward its surface. It was the most powerful flare in the sunspot region.
According to Spaceweather.com, scientists are waiting for data from the coronagraph on the joint NASA/European Space Agency Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft to determine if the coronal mass ejection will impact Earth. It consists of magnetic fields and plasma plumes, and if they reach our planet, they could lead to a geomagnetic storm that could possibly cause auroras, also known as the northern lights.
Solar flare classification
Solar flares are categorized on a 4-level scale, where each class is ten times more powerful than the previous one. The X-class flares are the most powerful, and the class below is the M-class. The number accompanying the letter indicates the power of the individual flare, in this case, 2.3.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the flare had an R3-Strong level on the space weather scale. This scale is specific to radioactive blackouts and indicates the different impacts of solar flares on Earth.
Radio frequency interference
In this case, this intense amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation accompanying the flare was followed by a shortwave radio blackout that disrupted high-frequency radio signals in various parts of the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, including South America and Africa.
SWPC forecasters say the Sun is not going to sleep yet. There remains an increased probability of new solar flares of R1-R2 strength (small to moderate), as well as the possibility of new events at the R3 level.
Provided by www.space.com
