(ORDO NEWS) — Sunspot AR3234 exploded yesterday, Feb. 28 at 1750 GMT, causing an M8.6 class solar flare, which is only slightly below class X. The
pulsed burst of X-rays ionized Earth‘s upper atmosphere, causing shortwave radio blackouts over the Americas.
Aviators and radio amateurs may have noticed signal loss below 30 MHz for more than 30 minutes after the flash.
A weak CME was also associated with this event, first observed on coronagraph images at 18:48 UTC. NOAA analysts are now modeling the CME to evaluate any possible Earthbound component.
Two CMEs collided with the Earth’s magnetic field on February 26 and 27, causing a series of strong Kp7 class geomagnetic storms.
Auroras descended to unusually low latitudes, including Albany, Missouri (+40°N); Fort Collins, Colorado (+40.6N); West Oak, Nebraska (+41 N); and La Grande, Oregon (+45 N).
In Russia, polar lights were observed even in the Moscow and Vologda regions. Now you don’t have to live in the Arctic Circle to see the auroras…
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