Angry Sun Ramping Up for Its Solar Maximum

Well, I can't do anything else while I'm getting over pneumonia, so it's time to write!

The latest sun storm erupted Monday (May 13) at 9:11 p.m. EDT (0111 GMT) and registered as an X3.2 solar flare, one of the strongest types of flares the sun can release according to officials at NASA.

The flares and eruptions occur in cycles and the sun is ramping up for its Solar Maximum later this year, but the guys at NASA were pretty impressed yesterday. "Clearly an extraordinary active region is making its way fully onto the visible disk," SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center) officials wrote in a morning update today (May 14). "Can it keep up this hectic pace?" Here's a great NASA link about the latest flares: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News051213-flare.html You HAVE to watch the video on this page. I'm in awe everytime I see this stuff. 

Luckily, the flares haven't been pointed in our direction... at least not yet. The X3.2 solar flare is the most powerful yet seen this year and the third-strongest sun storm of the current 11-year solar cycle, called Solar Cycle 24. The second strongest was an X5.4 solar flare in 2012, while the largest event was an X6.9 flare in 2011. So far, there have been 18 X-class solar flares in Solar Cycle 24.

Powerful flares can and do disrupt communications here on earth, and can even take down entire power grids. I have a great page that depicts the various levels of solar activity and the consequences for those of us on earth, as well as astronauts and pilots. http://www.daculaweather.com/4_space_warning_levels.php

You can also get the latest space weather (of course!) right here: http://www.daculaweather.com/4_space.php

I'm tired, gotta lay down!

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