Flexistentialism Welcome Guest | Login or Register

Yesterday the sun released yet another incredibly powerful solar flare, perhaps the largest on record. This flare was not directed straight toward Earth, but we will likely see some glancing effects from the gas ejected at the moment of the flare.

Solar flares are ranked by number, and most of the flares we have seen over the past few weeks have all been X class, meaning they are ‘severe’ flares. The number after the X indicates the strength. The series of flares began with some X4s, and then culminated last week with an X17 and an X10 in succession. The X17 on Oct. 28th was the third largest on record. But yesterday’s flare, currently classified as an X17.4, was much stronger. The X-ray radiation emitted by the flare saturated the sensors on the GOES satellite, so the final classification has not yet been determined, but it will likely be raised to above X20, making it the strongest recorded solar flare. This has been a week to remember for high solar activity.

For some great pictures and movies of the flare, and more information, check out the “SOHO Hotshots entry”:http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/2003_11_04/ for this flare.

Nothing quite like solar storms of this magnitude to make Earth weather seem rather paltry.

Feed on comments to this Post