[worth]

First earthward-heading solar flare of the cycle

In the late afternoon yesterday (February 13, 2011) sunspot 1158 released a decent-sized solar flare, a magnetic eruption on the Sun. This was classified as an M6.6 flare, which is above average in explosive energy, but hardly up to the nastiness we experienced in late 2003 when the Sun was throwing an epic hissy fit.


The image here is from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and shows the sunspot in the extreme ultraviolet part of the spectrum. This is the first solar flare sending energy toward the Earth since the Sun started its magnetic cycle up again last year. That may sound scary, but we’ll be OK. First of all, it’s not all that big a flare. Second, the effect comes in two ways: through electromagnetic energy (light), and subatomic particles. The first is already over, and the second will be buffered by the Earth’s magnetic field.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/ba...-of-the-cycle/