Posted on 05/06/2015 11:36:17 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The sun produced its biggest solar flare so far this year, a huge blast that caused temporary radio blackouts throughout the Pacific.
The X-class solar flare - considered the most powerful category of sun storm - erupted Tuesday from a sunspot called Active Region 2339 (AR2339), peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT (2211 GMT), according to Space.com.
The blast, however, is unlikely to cause major problems back on Earth.
"Given the impulsive nature of this event, as well as the source location on the eastern limb of the sun, we are not expecting a radiation storm at Earth," scientists with the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, which is overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote Tuesday evening.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Ka-boom!
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