NEWS: Sun Kicks Up Major Flare, More Expected

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Dear Friends,

Here is some interesting news article.

The Solar flares are at 11 YEars Cycle, 11 is Rudra cycle.

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Sanjay P

 

http://news./s/space/20050908/sc_space/sunkicksupmajorflaremoreexpected

 

Sun Kicks Up Major Flare, More Expected

 

Robert Roy Britt

Senior Science Writer

SPACE.comThu Sep 8, 3:00 PM ET

 

The Sun kicked up one of the largest flares on record Wednesday and

more eruptions are likely in coming days, forecasters said.

 

Communications and satellite operations could be affected over the

next two weeks.

 

The flare was rated an X-17. All X-flares are major, and few have been

recorded that were larger than X-10. It erupted from a sunspot that

was on the limb of the Sun, so while X-rays and other radiation

reached Earth in minutes, the bulk of the matter blown out from the

site was not directed our way.

 

" This flare, the fourth largest in the last 15 years, erupted just as

the Region 808 sunspot cluster was rotating onto the visible disk of

the Sun, " said Larry Combs, solar forecaster at the NOAA Space

Environment Center.

 

It still had a significant impact.

 

" This event created a complete blackout of high frequency

communications on the daylit side of Earth, which included the entire

U.S. and basically anywhere the sun was shinning at this time, " Combs

said. " Communications used by emergency services along the Gulf Coast

may have experienced problems due to this flare. Low frequency

navigation systems may also have experienced a period of significant

degradation. "

 

The flare was observed at 1:40 p.m. ET Wednesday.

 

Major flares are typically accompanied by coronal mass ejections,

which take from several hours up to a couple days to arrive. These

ejections of charged particles race outward in an expanding bubble.

When they interact with Earth's magnetic field, they can disable

satellites, generate colorful lights called auroras, and even trip

power grids on Earth.

 

Because Wednesday's eruption was pointed away from Earth, the

expanding bubble was not expected to produce more than a glancing blow

to the planet.

 

But as the sunspot rotates onto the face of the Sun, further eruptions

could have significant impact, forecasters said. Sunspots are regions

of pent-up magnetic energy. They are darker and cooler than the rest

of the solar surface.

 

The Sun is currently at a low point in its 11-year cycle of activity.

While sunspots and flares are less common now, astronomers say they

can pack plenty of punch when they do occur.

 

The largest flare in modern times was recorded in November 2003 and

was estimated to be an X-40. It, too, was on the limb of the Sun and

so its full impact was not felt on Earth.

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