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Solar Flares Cause ‘Permanent’ Radio Blackouts Worldwide
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Solar Flares Cause ‘Permanent’ Radio Blackouts Worldwide

Waves of solar flares continue to pour from the sun, causing “rolling” radio blackouts around the world.

Active sunspot regions on the Sun’s surface are responsible for eruptions classified on the A, B, C, M and X scales; Class X is the most powerful and least common. the stronger ones trigger interruptions On the side of the Earth facing our star.

one since yesterday powerful X2.3 class flare It caused radio blackouts in the Atlantic Ocean and South America, and a few M-class flares also headed towards us, causing weaker blackouts in Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Solar flares are bursts of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation from the sun’s surface, usually released from magnetically active regions such as sunspots. Flares are often accompanied by clouds of solar plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but while flares reach Earth within minutes, CMEs take several days to travel through space.

The latest outbursts were caused by a cluster of sunspots in the sun’s Southern Hemisphere called AR3883 and AR3886, as well as a large sunspot called AR3889.

radio blackouts solar flares
SWPC map of radio outages following yesterday’s X2.3 class flare (main) and image of sun-emitted flare (inset, circled). A few more faint flares have occurred since then, causing constant radio blackouts in the surrounding area…


NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said in a forecast discussion: “Solar activity was at high levels with ten M-Class flares and one occurred.” .

“Solar activity is expected to be moderate with M-Class (R1-R2/Minor-Medium) flares continuing and a chance for X-Class (R3-Strong) levels on 07-09 November. Solar flare probabilities are 3883.” “It is determined by the regions.” and 3886, because of their history and magnetic complexity.”

There is a 35 percent chance of seeing Class X flares today, tomorrow and Saturday, and an 80 percent chance of seeing Class M flares.

Each flare class is ten times more powerful than the previous one, and within the unrestricted X class, an X10 flare is ten times more powerful than the X1 class. Class M flares occur approximately 2,000 times in an 11-year cycle; Class X flares are seen approximately 175 times per cycle, and flares more powerful than class X10 are seen only eight times per cycle.

The most powerful outburst of this solar cycle so far was the X9.0 class flare seen on October 3 this year, breaking the record set by the X8.79 flare that occurred on May 14.

When a flare reaches our atmosphere, it ionizes a layer known as the ionosphere. Generally, the ionosphere reflects radio waves, allowing signals to be transmitted long distances around the world. However, when this layer is ionized, it absorbs frequencies below 30 MHz, causing shortwave radio interference.

Martin Connors, professor of space science and physics at Athabasca University in Canada, said: news week: “X-rays from the Sun split (split) atoms in the upper atmosphere, which is a good thing because we can’t get X-rays at ground level.

“But our protection means that the upper atmosphere becomes reflective or absorbing of radio signals (such as when you drive onto a metal-framed bridge and the radio cuts out). Unlike your car radio, this mostly affects the bands used in airborne communications.”

This usually occurs only on the side of the Earth facing the sun during the eruption and can affect military, aviation, maritime and emergency communications systems.

GPS signals can also be disrupted; This can affect the navigation accuracy of airlines, ships and ground transportation systems, sometimes forcing planes to avoid polar routes that are more exposed to solar activity.

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