GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): One and perhaps two CMEs could deliver glancing blows to Earth's magnetic field on Aug. 8-9. Both left the sun on Aug. 5th--the first CME launched by an erupting magnetic filament, the second CME launched by yesterday's X-flare (described below). If both hit, the double blow could cause a G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with a chance of escalating to G3 (Strong). Aurora alerts: SMS Text
X-FLARE! (UPDATED): Active sunspot AR3386 erupted on Aug. 5th (2221 UT), producing a long-duration X1.6-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
The flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused a shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean: map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal and other propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz.
SOHO coronagraphs recorded a bright CME flying away from the blast site. It is a lopsided halo that appears to have an Earth-directed component. The flank of the CME could strike our planet on Aug. 8th or 9th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
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CME SPARKS STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM: As predicted, a CME struck Earth during the early hours of Aug. 5th (0253 UT). Sensors at the Canberra Magnetic Observatory in Australia measured a jolt of 22 nT to our planet's magnetic field. The impact sparked a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm with auroras in the USA as far south as Arizona.
"The aurora was not visible to the unaided eye," says David Blanchard, who took the picture outside Flagstaff, "but my camera picked it up in a 30-sec exposure as a band of pink just above the horizon."
Additional sightings in Missouri, Colorado and the Carolinas confirm that photographic auroras spread to low latitudes. "Photographic auroras" are nearly invisible to the human eye but easy targets for cameras with nighttime exposure settings. This storm also produced bright naked-eye auroras at higher latitudes such as Minnesota, Washington and Michigan.
Did you miss the show? Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received instant text messages when the CME hit and when the geomagnetic storm began. Give it a try.
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