#X-CLASS #SOLAR-FLARE: The sun produced another #X-flare on Jan. 10th, this time from new sunspot AR3186. This movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the X1-class explosion hurling a plume of debris into space:

Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over the South Pacific: blackout map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed fadeouts and other unusual propagation effects at frequencies below ~30 MHz.

This is the 3rd X-flare in a week, and each flare has come from a different #sun spot. It's not just a single active region; the whole sun is becoming more active. NOAA forecasters say there is a 30% chance of another X-flare on Jan. 11th.