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We are yet to receive an update on the incoming CME cloud that is supposed to deliver a glancing blow to the Earth today. But in the meantime, reports of another solar flare eruption have raised concerns among researchers. This particular solar flare was produced on sunspot AR3341 on June 23, the same region that was responsible for the X1-class flare that sparked a massive short-wave radio blackout on June 20. While yesterday’s flare has not sparked a blackout, it now remains to be seen if this can cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth.
Space weather physicist Dr. Tamitha Skov, who is also popularly known as space weather woman, mentioned in her forecast, “This week our Sun really kicks things into high gear with Region 3341 firing an X1.1-flare, an M4.9-flare, and launching two near-Earth directed geomagnetic storms. Although the storms will likely only graze Earth, we may be in for a bit of a bumpy ride, especially at high latitudes. Aurora may be visible sporadically all week”.
She added that during the next five days, there is a high risk for radio blackouts, which might be a concern as this weekend, the world celebrates Field Day, an annual amateur radio contest where many regions practice the rapid deployment of radio communications for emergency situations.
Geomagnetic storms concern rises
The fear of radio blackouts comes from the notorious solar region AR3341 which has already produced two massive solar flares. Skov said, “We likely wont get another X-flare from region 3341, but big M-flares are definitely possible along with an Earth-directed solar storm or two. This means Field Day for many radio operators will include a lot of noise and intermittent disruptions on the bands during the day”.
Additionally, the geomagnetic storm can also cause a number of problems including disruption to mobile networks and GPS, damage to satellites, power grid failure, and more.
How NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory monitors solar activity
The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) carries a full suite of instruments to observe the Sun and has been doing so since 2010. It uses three very crucial instruments to collect data from various solar activities. They include Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) which takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible solar disk, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) which measures the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet irradiance and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) which provides continuous full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.
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