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Major solar flare measuring X1.1 erupted from southeast limb

major-solar-flare-measuring-x1-1-erupted-from-southeast-limb

A major, long duration solar flare measuring X1.1 at its peak time erupted on October 19, 2014. The source was large Active Region 2192 (beta-gamma) located in the southeast quadrant. The event started at 04:17, peaked at 05:03 and ended at 05:48 UTC.

The region is still not in favorable position for Earth directed Coronal Mass Ejections but this will change in the coming days as the region rotates toward the center of the disk.

SDO/AIA imagery of the event suggested that the bulk of the ejecta was reabsorbed or directed well south and east of the Sun-Earth line. SOHO/LASCO coronagraph imagery confirmed what was observed from the SDO/AIA spacecraft as no obvious CME was detected associated with the X-flare.

Region 2192 already produced several significant eruptions and sent a massive CME into the space as it was transiting onto the Earth side. 

NOAA SWPC forecasters estimate 55% chance for M-class, and 15% chance for X-class solar flare in the next two days.

Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01
Serial Number: 104
Issue Time: 2014 Oct 19 0555 UTC

SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1
Begin Time: 2014 Oct 19 0417 UTC
Maximum Time: 2014 Oct 19 0503 UTC
End Time: 2014 Oct 19 0548 UTC
X-ray Class: X1.1
Location: S15E55
NOAA Scale: R3 – Strong

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point.
Radio – Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for about an hour.

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Sunspots

There are currently 3 numbered sunspot regions on the disk. Large Region 2192 (S13E55, Fkc/beta-gamma) / (1240 millionths) has now fully rotated onto the disk, but its close proximity to the limb makes an accurate magnetic classification problematic. The other regions on the visible disk are quiet and stable.

Sunspots on October 19, 2014. Image credit: NASA SDO/HMI.

2186 – Alpha
2187 – Beta
2192 – Beta-Gamma

Featured image: NASA SDO AIA 304 at 05:21 UTC on October 19, 2014.

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One Comment

  1. today, we had an exceptional fog , which is very very rare in my region, that allowed me to directly see the sun disc very clearly…the spot 2192 was perfectly visible with naked eye, perfectly at the center and the bottom, perfectly earthfacing today, if NASA tells you today 20/10/2014 that it’s not earthfacing, then, i think they allow us to see the sun image 24hours after they got it from the satellite…which would be absolutely understandable, just in case there is a ”killshot” they have a little more time than the public…

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