On May 29, 2024, the Sun emitted a major solar flare (14:37 UTC). Old sunspot AR3664 (now AR3697) is still very active and this is the second X flare in less than 48 hours.
This long-duration flare almost certainly hurled a CME into space. The US Air Force is reporting a Type II solar radio burst most likely produced by shock waves in the leading edge of a CME. Within the radio burst, frequency drift rates suggest an expansion velocity near 900 km/s (2 million mph). Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs.
Extreme ultraviolet radiation produced a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at all frequencies below 30 MHz.
#Xflare #CME #radioblackout
Images credit: AIA/SDO, NOAA/SWPC, nemesis maturity channel, helioviewer.org
Music credit: KZfaq Audio Library