US radio blackouts as historic sunspot fires ‘spectacular’ X-Flare

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A powerful solar flare was spewed from the same sunspot that caused the spectacular aurora borealis on May 10.

The May 29 solar flare was measured as an X1.4 flare, one of the strongest types of flare, and caused radio blackouts in the US and Western Europe.

The sunspot that unleashed the eruption, now named AR3697, was named AR3664 and was about 15 times the size of Earth when it unleashed a series of coronal mass ejections that slammed into Earth and set off a geomagnetic storm that produced the aurora borealis seen around the world. 50 US states and even Mexico.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory releasing a solar flare on May 29, 2024. The area circled in white is a sunspot releasing a bright flare.

NASA/ILO

After spending several weeks on the other side of the star as it rotated, the sunspot is back, and although smaller, it’s still spewing out flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

“Region 3697 (old Region 3664) is at it again! X1.45 long flare and today’s start of a #solarstorm almost aimed at Earth. We may be engulfed by the shockwave of this storm in a few days. Dayside Radio Operators are feeling this #Radioblackout on R3 level for sure!” space weather physicist Tamitha Skov wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

Solar flares are categorized as A, B, C, M or X depending on their strength, with Class X being the most powerful type. Each category is 10 times stronger than the previous one.

“Solar flares are usually associated with large and complex sunspots and are caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy that has accumulated in the solar atmosphere. The greater the magnetic energy released, the stronger the solar flare will be,” said Rami Qahwaji, a. Professor of Visual computer scientist and space weather researcher at the UK’s University of Bradford Newsweek.

Solar flares cause radio blackouts because they increase the ionization of the Earth’s ionosphere. Radio communications, especially those using high-frequency (HF) bands, rely on the ionosphere to reflect signals back to Earth, enabling long-distance communications.

X-rays and ultraviolet (UV) radiation from solar flares ionize the ionosphere, causing it to absorb radio waves instead of reflecting them. This absorption mainly affects the KV band (3 to 30 MHz), which leads to communication failures.

In addition to causing radio blackouts, solar flares can have a number of other effects on both technology and human activity. Increased radiation can damage or disrupt electronics and sensors on satellites, and increased atmospheric drag caused by the heating and expansion of Earth’s upper atmosphere can alter satellite orbits, requiring adjustments to avoid collisions or loss of function.

In addition, the increased level of radiation at high altitudes poses a health risk to flight crews and passengers or astronauts aboard the ISS. Solar flares can also interfere with the accuracy of GPS signals, leading to navigation errors.

At the same time as this solar flare, a CME was also launched from the sunspot and is currently on its way to Earth.

“This explosion was remarkable for its duration. The X-class phase alone lasted more than an hour – enough time to lift the CME out of the solar atmosphere,” wrote spaceweather.com.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center predicts that a CME may hit Earth between May 31 and June 1 and trigger a G2 geomagnetic storm. This could result in the auroras being seen further south than usual, but not as far south as during the G5 storm on May 10.

“Auroras may become visible over some northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho,” the center said in a warning.