#ionizing
EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR FLARES: Sunspot AR3429 is crackling with #M-class #solarflares. This interest-compressed movie from Sept. 15th shows extreme ultraviolet flashes from four eruptions, all Earth-directed:
#Pulses of #radiation from this #sunspot are #ionizing the top of #Earth's #atmosphere, creating a rolling series of shortwave radio blackouts over all longitudes of our #planet. Ham radio operators, pilots and mariners may notice occasional loss of signal, especially at frequencies below 20 MHz.
So far none of the explosions has hurled a CME toward Earth. They've all been too brief to lift a CME out of the sun's atmosphere. However, there is a huge magnetic filament snaking around the sunspot group. If continued flaring destabilizes the filament, it could erupt and hurl significant debris in our direction.
https://spaceweather.com/