STRONG #FLARES ARE #UNDERWAY: Solar activity has reached high levels on Nov. 6th as sunspots AR3883 and AR3886 crackle with strong solar flares. The most powerful so far is this #X2 -class explosion centered on AR3883:
Extreme UV radiation is ionizing the top of Earth's atmosphere, causing shortwave radio blackouts. Ham radio operators DXing across the southern hemisphere may notice intermittent loss of signal below 30 MHz.
There's a good chance that one or more CMEs are heading for #Earth
#Sunspot AR3664, the source of the historic May 10th superstorm, has spent the past two week's transiting the farside of the #sun. Yesterday, it announced its return with an #X2.8-class #solarflare. Amateur #astronomer Michael Karrer was watching the sun when the #explosion occured, and he captured this #picture of flying debris:
"I have not seen an explosion like this in my 40 years of observing the sun," says Karrer. "So fast, so far out into space! It was gigantic."
The explosion caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over east Asia and hurled a bright #CME into #space. A NASA model of the CME confirms that it will miss Mercury, Venus and Earth. None of the inner planets will be affected by this powerful event.