STRONGEST SOLAR FLARE OF THE CURRENT CYCLE: Sunspot AR3664 just unleashed the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle–an X8.7-category blast from beyond the sun’s western limb. X marks the spot in this image of the flare from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
PROTONS ARE RAINING DOWN ON EARTH: Giant sunspot AR3664 is no longer facing Earth. That makes it extra dangerous. Right now, the Carrington-class sunspot is passing over the sun’s western limb–a region of the sun that is magnetically connected to our planet. Indeed, we are feeling the effects of that connection; take a look at this map of ongoing radio blackouts.
