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#1 X-ray flare for
the record books
 
Credits: SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA)
On 4 November 2003, The Sun's
active region 10486 blasted off yet another mega-flare, starting at 19:29 UT on
4 November 2003.The SEC that their best estimate was X28, with a peak around
19:50 UT. Although the exact number will likely be debated for some time, it is
now official: We have a new #1 X-ray flare for the record books.
Before the storm peaked,
x-rays overloaded the detectors on the Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellites (GOES), forcing scientists to estimate the flare's size. Taking a
different route, researchers from the University of Otago used radio wave-based
measurements of the x-rays' effects on the Earth's upper atmosphere to revise
the flare's size from a merely huge X28 to a "whopping" X45, say
researchers Neil Thomson, Craig Rodger, and Richard Dowden. X-class flares are
major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the world and long-lasting
radiation storms in the upper atmosphere that can damage or destroy
satellites.
Credit:
NASA, SOHO, JPL , LASCO
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