Major solar storm heads towards Earth

Major solar storm heads towards Earth

The Capitol Column | Stacey Pounsberry | Sunday, July 15, 2012

Solar flares release a wave of ions that can damage satellites, interfere with navigation or communication signals, and damage power plant infrastructure. Scientists say we should expect many more of these sun storms before the year is through, with varying results and ramifications.
According to an article on Space.com, “The sun unleashed a huge flare Thursday (July 12), the second
major solar storm to erupt from our star in less than a week.” The X-class sun storm, the most powerful type of flare the sun can have, according to the article, peaked at 12:52 pm EDT and was significantly more powerful than the flare that erupted on July 6.

NASA officials were quoted as saying in an alert, “It erupted from Active Region 1520, which rotated into view on July 6.” The article says Active Region 1520, or AR1520, is a giant sunspot currently facing Earth. According to NASA and the Space Weather Prediction Center (SPWC), which is operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sun flare was registered as an X1.4-class flare, making it the strongest flare of the summer.
Solar physicist Alex Young of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center told Space.com that AR1520 could be up to 186,411 miles (300,000 kilometers) long at its peak. “It’s quite extensive,” according to Mr. Young, who added that these sunspots are normal as the sun nears the peak of its weather cycle in 2013. The article quoted NASA and SWPC officials as saying the flare triggered an eruption of solar plasma (a coronal mass ejection, or CME) that is expected to reach Earth at 1 am Saturday (July 14). Mr Young says that, although a CME can spark a minor geomagnetic storm, “At this point, I think the impact is going to be relatively minor.”

Dean Pesnell, project scientist for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (or SDO), told Space.com that while the sunspot may sound large, AR1520 is “actually a relatively modest sunspot example” and that many more sun storms are to come while the sun is in its active weather phase. Mr. Pesnell says, “[the solar flare] is certainly not done. It’s only halfway across the face of the sun right now. We’ll be able to watch it from the Earth for at least another week.”

The SDO, overseen by Mr. Pesnell at the Goddard center in Greenbelt, Maryland, was able to capture a video of the X1.4 flare with what the article calls “one of several spacecraft keeping a constant watch on the sun’s weather cycle.”