Major X2.2 solar flare erupts just beyond the southwest limb of the Sun
Image credit: NASA SDO/AIA 131
A major solar flare measuring X2.2 at its peak erupted at 03:57 UTC on April 20, 2022, from a region located just beyond the southwest limb of the Sun – likely former Region 2992. The event started at 03:41 UTC and ended at 04:04.
The flare was associated with multiple bursts on specific radio frequencies, including a burst of 509 solar flux units on 2 695 MHz.
Additionally, a Type II Radio Emission was detected by the USAF Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN), with an estimated velocity of 1 630 km/s. This radio signature is often indicative of a potential coronal mass ejection (CME).
Coronagraph imagery from the NASA/SOHO LASCO instrument are still not available to confirm if a CME took place.
However, as the source region of the flare was beyond the southwest limb, initial analysis suggests any CME is unlikely to have an Earth-directed component.
Other notable events of the day include M1.2 from AR 2994 at 01:14 UTC and M7.2 from AR 2992 at 01:36 UTC.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Just waiting on Jamal to tell us he had this predicted, and that he will show us all as soon as he finds :
His notes,
That paragraph in his book that disappears when others look for it,
His degree and defense,
That missing webpage, and
the non-thermonuclear sun that got him tossed from school.