SOLAR WATCH * Huge X8.2 Flare Sept. 10, 2017! (Updated Daily)

I often see scare-mongering headlines about a low M-flare of a filament CME for example. They often scream "TERRIFYING Solar Eruption Threatens Blackouts..." or some such nonsense. The worst offenders (which I won't name) seem to be so-called 'tech journals' based in India or Malaysia, but I've also seen a few from Forbes, Newsweek and other mainstream fake-news outlets.

Anyway, Scientific American has published a good analysis of what real dangers may result from Solar activity and how to weed through the over-hyped nonsense. It's something y'all should read to ground yourself in the real science of heliophysics and space weather. (Ironically, Sci-Am promotes links to their own articles with fearful click-bait titles, haha)

Here we go-

Should You Really Worry about Solar Flares?

On January 6 a powerful solar flare erupted from the surface of the sun. It was the first X-class flare—the strongest type on the flare intensity scale—in around two months. Two further X-class flares followed within the next few days, marking a distinct uptick in solar activity—and in breathless speculations that the flurry of flares could threaten us here on Earth. One U.K. tabloid raised the possibility of “major continent-wide power blackouts.” “Terrifying solar storm coming to Earth,” read another outlet’s headline.
Heliophysicists and other scientists studying “space weather” warn that flares and related solar outbursts can indeed interfere with modern life by damaging power grids, as well as by increasing radiation exposures for occupants of space habitats and high-altitude aircraft. But even so, such experts say, the risk of harm arising from inclement space weather remains far lower than many media reports often suggest. Does that mean we shouldn’t worry any time our star decides to belch in our general direction? Not exactly. Knowing what to worry about and when, however, requires proper context and perspective.

(snip)
“At this point, I do not need to convince you that we are not facing the apocalypse,” says Erika Palmerio, a heliophysicist at solar research company Predictive Science. “The point is that solar activity is rising at the moment because that is what is expected of the solar cycle.” X-class flares, for instance, are quite common during periods of heightened solar activity despite their ominous “strongest” ranking. According to Palmerio, a typical solar cycle produces almost 200 of them, with most occurring towards the maximum. Statistically speaking, that implies we can expect more than a dozen X-class flares to erupt this year alone.

(less<50%)

READ the FULL REPORT:
[link to www.scientificamerican.com (secure)]

***Caveat: Of course GLP creates the BEST DOOM titles and I enjoy them all (especially the stupid ones, LOL). Yes, I occasionally hype up an event to garner interest in, and provoke discussion of an unusual or strong eruption. But that's a rare thing from me. Dr. Tony Phillips @ spaceweather is also known to exaggerate stuff for clicks, not to mention the usual suspects on YouTube. Nuff said.

Your news is like a month late, my friend. We try to update events daily or every few days when it's quiet.

Don't buy in to the hype that every flare is massive, terrifying or a threat to civilization. The 'blackouts' are merely brief interruptions of HF transmissions on the day-side of Earth when the D-Layer of the Ionosphere is used to bounce radio waves. Many headlines I see attempt to scare people about electric grid blackouts....ie., fake news.

Great posts but a bit late. Let us know what happened today or yesterday if you can.

WOW!! We're suddenly back to 9 numbered regions on the Earth-facing disk. Also, old friends 3190 and 3192 are due to return soon.

AR3213 is growing at a very high north latitude. Conversely, AR3214 is growing at only 10 degrees N. Two others spots have come over in the NE-- ARs 3215 & 3216.

In addition, a large filament in the south is directly Earth-facing now.:

[link to gong2.nso.edu (secure)]

M Class Solar Flares Today

M2.1 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

M1.6 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

M1.5 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

M1.7 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

M1.7 [link to www.lmsal.com (secure)]

All but 1 of these are directly earth facing