X-Class 3.4 Incoming
On the 13th at 0222 UTC, Sunspot 10930 unleashed a major geoeffective X3.4/4B proton flare with Strong type II/IV radio bursts. This CME will arrive
sometime after 0600 UTC on December 14th and will cause severe geomagnetic storm conditions for 24-36 hours after impact. In the past few days, there
has been 3 X, 4 M, and 27 C-class flares in a solar minimum, which is highly unusual.
Current Space Weather Indices
Geomagnetic Storms: G1
Solar Radiation Storms: S2
Radio Blackouts: R3
2006/12/13 02:40:00 X-3.4 solar flare
Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory
Astronauts take shelter from violent solar storm Florida
Today
Solar Radiation Storm Smacks Satellites Space.com
Approximate Flare Start : 13-12-2006 0222 UT
Approximate Flare Maximum: 13-12-2006 0238 UT at Flux X 3.4
Approximate Flare End : 13-12-2006 0442 UT
LOCATION OF HF FADEOUT: Western Australia/Eastern Australia/Northern Australia/New Zealand/SE Asia/China/Indian Ocean/Micronesia/Polynesia/
source
Typhoon Utor is approaching
Hainan Island,
China and is forecasted to disperse before landfall. Since this X-flare was facing SE Asia at the time of eruption, it will be interesting to
see if gravity waves, proton fluence and magnetic anomalies from the CME will have a dramatic effect the tropical storm's intensity and track.
Key Space Weather Secret Revealed space.com
The new study shows that the Northern Lights, also called aurora, and other space weather near Earth are driven by the rate at which the Earth’s and
Sun’s magnetic fields connect, or merge, and not just by the solar wind’s electric field.
The merging occurs way out in space, at a spot between the Earth and Sun, roughly 40,000 miles above our planet’s surface. Researchers have now
developed a formula that describes the merging rate of the magnetic field lines and accurately predicts 10 different types of near-Earth space weather
activity, such as the aurora and magnetic disturbances.
“Having this formula is a big step forward for understanding how the Sun and Earth interact,” said study leader Patrick Newell of the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
New solar data site: Solarcycle24
[edit on 13-12-2006 by Regenmacher]