MULTIPLE CMEs ARE COMING: At least three CMEs are heading for Earth following a series of magnetic filament eruptions (#1, #2 & #3) earlier this week. Their collective arrival could spark G2-class geomagnetic storms with mid-latitude auroras on Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st. This forecast does not yet take into account a possible CME hurled toward us by today's almost-X class solar flare. Keep reading! Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
ALMOST-X CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot AR3500 erupted on Nov. 28th (1950 UT), producing an M9.8-class solar flare--only percentage points below category X. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast:
A pulse of extreme UV radiation blacked out shortwave radio communications across the South Pacific Ocean and parts of the Americas: map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 20 MHz.
This explosion almost certainly hurled a CME toward Earth. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs. Stay tuned. CME alerts: SMS Text
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MOONLIGHT VS. AURORAS: Spoiler alert: The auroras won. On Nov. 25th, a G2-class geomagnetic storm sent auroras cascading across Europe. Glare from the nearly full Moon threatened to overwhelm the light show, but... "We could see the auroras despite the strong moonlight," reports Petr Horálek of Záhradné, Slovakia.
"They looked beautifully red," he says.
The display was remarkable not only for its full-Moon intensity, but also for its latitude. Záhradné is in central Europe at +49 degrees north. Normally auroras are restricted to the high fifties and sixties. A similar mid-latitude light show could be in the offing later this week if multiple CMEs arrive as expected. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
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