Giant Sunspot AR1654: Serious Threat
Submitted by Robert Bast on January 16, 2013 – 9:23 pmOne Comment
I said this a few days ago:
If sunspot AR1654 sends an X-flare our way, it will still most likely be one of the hundreds per century that do us and our satellites no harm at all. But because it is a large sunspot, pointing our way soon, then the potential for the next Carrington Event is there.
That hasn’t changed, but the relative threat of this particular sunspot has got worse. SpaceWeather.com say:
An X-flare could be in the offing. The magnetic field of big sunspot AR1654 is growing more complex. It is now classified as a ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field, which means it harbors energy for X-class eruptions. Any explosion today would be Earth-directed.
Indeed. Here is sunspot 1654 on the sun between an earthly snow shower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obJbwRGhiIU