Strong solar flare reaching M6.9 took place at 16:32 UTC
Image credit: TW
Notorious Sunspot 1515 produced yet another strong M-class solar flare. This event started at 16:23 UTC on July 8, 2012, peaked 16:32 UTC at M6.9 and ended at 16:42 UTC. Sunspot 1515 is about to rotate to western limb so huge CME it has produced was not Earth directed. A moderate R2 radio blackout was reported – limited blackout of HF radio communication on sunlit side of Earth, loss of radio contact for tens of minutes. Navigation: Degradation of low-frequency navigation signals for tens of minutes.
SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded M5
Begin Time: 2012 Jul 08 1623 UTC
Maximum Time: 2012 Jul 08 1632 UTC
End Time: 2012 Jul 08 1642 UTC
X-ray Class: M6.9
Location: S17W74
NOAA Scale: R2 – Moderate
Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered primarily on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth.
Radio – Limited blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for tens of minutes.
There is 80% chance for another M-class event, and 25% for X-class.
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