LARGE SOLAR FLARES JUNE 16TH

CHANCE OF FLARES: Big sunspot AR1504 has developed a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of M-flares and a 5% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. X-flare alerts: text, voice.

INCOMING CMES: On June 14th, for the second day in a row, sunspot AR1504 erupted and hurled a CME toward Earth. The fast-moving (1360 km/s) cloud is expected to sweep up a previous CME and deliver a combined blow to Earth's magnetic field on June 16th around 10:16 UT. This animation shows the likely progression of the approaching storm:

According to the forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CMEs will also hit Venus on June 15th and Mars on June 19th. Because Venus and Mars do not have global magnetic fields to protect them, both of those planets will probably lose tiny amounts of atmosphere when the CMEs strike.

Here on Earth, the impact is likely to trigger a geomagnetic storm around the poles. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on June 16th.

The CME's appear to be causing much rain in this area and clouds.

Another massive CME heading this way...

Space Weather News for March 9, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

INCOMING CME: As Earth's magnetic field reverberates from the impact of one CME on March 8th, a second CME is on the way.  Big sunspot AR1429 unleashed an M6-class solar flare today, and the eruption hurled a cloud of plasma almost directly toward Earth.  Forecasters say the CME could reach our planet during the late hours of March 10th or early hours of March 11th. Strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives.  Check http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Aurora alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.

New subscribers may sign up for free space weather alerts at  http://spaceweather.com/services/ .

Sun acting up. Earth under attack.

Earth hit with a massive CME last night 2 AM Alaska time. Haven't heard what damage it did to the side of Earth facing the sun. Did it knock out computers in Europe?