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Breaking News => Space News and Current Space Weather Conditions => Topic started by: rdunk on January 09, 2014, 10:05:02 PM

Title: Sun Unleashes First Major Solar Flare Of 2014
Post by: rdunk on January 09, 2014, 10:05:02 PM
Tariq Malik, SPACE.com
Published: Jan 8, 2014, 4:05 PM EST weather.com

"Tuesday's massive solar flare has forced the commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences to postpone the planned launch of a private cargo mission to the International Space Station today. Read the full story here: Huge Solar Flare Delays Private Rocket Launch to Space Station".

"A massive solar flare erupted from the sun on Tuesday (Jan. 7), rising up from what appears to be one of the largest sunspot groups seen on the star's surface in a decade, NASA officials say".


http://www.weather.com/news/science/space/sun-unleashes-first-major-solar-flare-2014-20140108
Title: Re: Sun Unleashes First Major Solar Flare Of 2014
Post by: zorgon on January 09, 2014, 10:23:12 PM
Looks like a small one :D  Only an X-1?

NOAA says its a G-3 :P

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=01&year=2014

NOAA Space Weather Scales
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/index.html#GeomagneticStorms

Might make a pretty light show :D

(http://www.public.iastate.edu/~sdk/fick2003/images/p4a.jpg)


Title: Re: Sun Unleashes First Major Solar Flare Of 2014
Post by: rdunk on January 09, 2014, 11:18:11 PM
Quote from: zorgon on January 09, 2014, 10:23:12 PM
Looks like a small one :D  Only an X-1?

NOAA says its a G-3 :P

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=01&year=2014

NOAA Space Weather Scales
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/index.html#GeomagneticStorms

Might make a pretty light show :D

(http://www.public.iastate.edu/~sdk/fick2003/images/p4a.jpg)

As you know, I am relatively sure, solar flares are measured somewhat similar to earthquakes - each next designation is 10x greater than the prior. The solar flare classes are A, B, C, M, and X, the largest. So, it would be safe to say anything in the X class should be considered quite large! :)

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/X-class-flares.html

From the information you posted, noaa classing seems to be different, in that they are basing their classing upon impacts to subsystems and weather, ie as you said, "a G-3" for this one

.
Title: Re: Sun Unleashes First Major Solar Flare Of 2014
Post by: zorgon on January 10, 2014, 05:15:17 AM
When God said "Let there be light!!" why did it have to be a nuclear reactor that could FRY us in a nano second?

::)