AURORA ALERT: High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Earth is entering a dense solar wind stream and this could trigger polar geomagnetic storms
CRACKLING SUNSPOT: Old sunspot 1039 is crackling with solar flares. Over the past 48 hours, it has produced five M-class eruptions. Click on the image to play a movie of the latest, an
The ongoing sequence of flares signals a sharp upturn in solar activity. Before this week, the last time the sun produced even a single M-class solar flare was in March 2008--almost two years ago. M-class solar flares have a moderate effect on Earth. Mainly, they boost the usual ionization of Earth's upper atmosphere, causing short-lived radio blackouts at some frequencies and radio enhancements at others. For an example, scroll down and read the section "Ionospheric Disturbance."
Today, the active region responsible for these fireworks is emerging over the sun's eastern limb where it can be seen from Earth: finder chart. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
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