This is an X1.6-class solar flare pointed directly at the Earth, but it seems we simply know it has been shot at us, but don't really know the potential affects.............yet!! I guess we will know in a couple of days - when it hits Earth!
BY ALAN BOYLE
A cantankerous sunspot region erupted with a powerful X1.6-class solar flare at just the wrong time Wednesday. The blast was pointing right at us. That means any resulting outburst of electrically charged particles, known as a coronal mass ejection or CME, could have a disruptive effect.
"Initial information suggests that CME is likely associated with this event, but further analysis is underway at this time," the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center reported on its Facebook page.
Solar storms don't have a significant impact on human health, although high-altitude fliers and astronauts may get an extra dose of radiation. In a worst-case scenario, the storms can deal a blow to orbiting satellites and power grids on Earth. In a best-case scenario, they merely cause heightened auroral displays.
More: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/solar-storm-warning-sun-shoots-x-flare-outburst-earth-n200321
This is another piece from late yesterday's news that gives us a little more of how this flare is expected to hit/miss Earth.
BY SETH BORENSTEIN
AP SCIENCE WRITER
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A strong solar flare is blasting its way to Earth, but the worst of its power looks like it will barely skim above the planet and not cause many problems.
It has been several years since Earth has had a solar storm of this size coming from sunspots smack in the middle of the sun, said Tom Berger, director of the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. The flare on the sun barely hits the "extreme" on forecasters' scale, but with its worst effects missing Earth it is only looking "potentially strong" at most when it arrives at Earth as a solar storm, he said.
New calculations from satellite data show that the worst of the energetic particles streaming from the sun likely will go north or above Earth this time, Berger said late Wednesday.
More: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_SOLAR_STORM?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-09-10-17-56-39