Sun Erupts with Spectacular Flares

By Nancy Atkinson - September 7, 2011 at 12:56 PM UTC | Solar Astronomy

The Sun sent two flares yesterday from active region 1283. This video shows the second flare, at 6:12 p.m. EDT (2212 GMT) on Tuesday an even bigger flare than the M-class flare from early on Sept. 6, at about 0150 GMT. This was an X-class flare, major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. The latest update says the CMEs could sail north of Earth, delivering a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field, and could arrive between September 8 -10.

Spaceweather.com

says high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead.

The image below was sent in to Universe Today by Monty Leventhal showing the type 4B Flare with an X-ray class of X-2 in active region 1283.

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Here are the details and equipment Monty used:

Date:- 6-9-11 Time:- 22.05 U.T. Conditions:- Poor Camera:- Canon 300D Filter:- H-alpha. 6Å. Telescope:- Meade S.C. 10 inch

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com