UPDATED.......SUN UNLEASHES POWERFUL SOLAR FLARE 10-28-21

 Hey, Space Placers! 

Sunspots photographed with Unistellar eQuinox telescope with a safe solar filter

Greg Redfern

UPDATE:

Here is the latest NOAA Space Weather Prediction:

SWPC Product Subscription Service <SWPC.Products@noaa.gov>	6:18 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Space Weather Message Code: WATA50
Serial Number: 65
Issue Time: 2021 Oct 28 2216 UTC

WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G3 Predicted

Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Oct 29:  None (Below G1)   Oct 30:  G3 (Strong)   Oct 31:  G2 (Moderate)

THIS SUPERSEDES ANY/ALL PRIOR WATCHES IN EFFECT

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude.
Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.
Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.
Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.
Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.
Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

The Sun unleashed its most powerful solar flare to date during its current Solar Cycle 25.

It is expected to impact Earth on October 29th and you can check here to get the latest predictions on effects we will see on Earth.

I photographed the sunspot group that had the solar flare earlier this week on Monday - seen on the left in the photo above - with my Unistellar eQuinox telescope with a safe solar filter.

This high energy X-ray Solar Flare caused radio blackouts today and may produce lower latitude Auroras tomorrow.

Check here for Aurora predictions.

Exciting times on the Sun......

Sky Guy in VA