Sunspot 1520 was the perfect storm waiting to erupt.
It was many times the size of the planet earth and aimed itself like a gun directly at our pale blue dot.
Today it fired with a ferocious X.4 flare..
X flares are the strongest of solar flares that are unleashed from the sun.
A highly cited story running tonight on Space.Com on the flare tells the tale of Sunspot 1520 and how we may see even more action coming:
But while sunspot AR1520 may sound like a solar behemoth, it is actually a relatively modest sunspot example, and promises more sun storms to come, Dean Pesnell, project scientist for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, told SPACE.com. "It's certainly not done. It's only halfway across the face of the sun right now," Pesnell said from the Goddard center in Greenbelt, Md., which oversees the sun-watching SDO mission. "We'll be able to watch it from the Earth for at least another week." The SDO spacecraft captured a video of the huge X1.4 solar flare and is one of several spacecraft keeping a constant watch on the sun's weather cycle.
There is a potential for radio transmission problems.. satellite issues.. There will also be a good chance for some amazing, spectacular, and beautiful Northern Lights--which do have a sound now, don't forget.
At this point, only minor effects are predicted to impact the planet from the event.. More developments may occur if 1520 fires off another round..
Despite the strength or weakness of this, is this planet truly ready for what would happen if a monster solar event took place? We all know the answer to that question is no. Sadly, every time we dodge a bullet we just wipe the sweat from our brow and keep moving on.. not realizing that the sun that heats us can also be our biggest enemy.