Wednesday, September 7, 2011

CMEs Heading Toward Earth



STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY:  On Sept. 6th, active sunspot 1283 produced two major eruptions including an impulsive X2-class solar flare.  The blasts hurled a pair of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth, which could spark geomagnetic activity when they arrive on Sept. 8-10.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead.

The flares produced waves of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere, briefly altering the propagation of low-frequency radio signals around our planet. Moreover, the two eruptions hurled clouds of plasma (CMEs) in our direction. CME impacts, geomagnetic storms and auroras are expected on Sept. 8-10.

This week's sharp increase in solar activity has turned the sun into a radio transmitter. Bursts of shortwave static are coming from the unstable magnetic canopy of sunspot 1283.

Check http://spaceweather.com/ for more updates.

No comments: