Sunspot AR2615 is Crackling with M-Class Solar Flares Causes Radio Blackouts On Earth
On Nov. 29th, new sunspot AR2615 erupted, producing two M-Class solar flares. A pulse of UV and X-radiation from the explosion ionized the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
This affected the normal propagation of radio waves.
Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed brief fade-outs and/or unexpected hops at frequencies below ~10 MHz. http://www.spaceweather.com/
Moderate Flare Activity / Region 2615 New region 2615 continues to evolve in the southeast quadrant and at the time of this update, a small small delta magnetic formation within the center of the group is present. This is allowing the region to generate low level M-Flares. Two M-flares including an M1.2 at 23:38 UTC (Nov 29) have been observed thus far.
Both flares, the earlier flare being an impulsive M1.0, were not large enough to generate a noteworthy coronal mass ejection.
Additional flaring may be possible as the region continues to evolve. http://www.solarham.net/
R1 Radio Blackouts on 29 November, 2016 R1 (Minor) Radio Blackouts occurred on 29 November, 2016 as two M1 flares occurred. The first M1 flare was between 1719-1726 UTC (1219-1226 ET) and reached a maximum level at 1723 UTC (1223 ET). The second M1 flare erupted between 2329-2340 UTC (1829-1840 ET) and reached maximum intensity at 2338 UTC (1838 ET). Both flares originated from NOAA/SWPC Region 2615, a recently developed spot group.
This spot group was also responsible for several C-class flares throughout the 29 November UTC day.
Solar Wind Speed: 366 km/sec Solar Wind Magnetic Fields: Bt 6 nT, Bz -2 nT http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
Clips, images credit: NOAA.SWPC, NASA/SDO & Helioviewer.org
