Strong Solar Flare Causes Small Radio Blackout

[Uomo Senza Nome]

Sun Burp to Hit Earth After Radio Blackout From 'Strongest' Flare in Years (msn.com)

A huge plume of solar plasma is due to slam into the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday, in the wake of the strongest solar flare of the sun's 11-year solar cycle so far.
The huge flare erupted from the sun's sunspot 3514 on December 14, and clocked in as an X2.8-class flare, making it the most powerful solar storm the sun has seen since September 2017. The flare caused a deep shortwave radio blackout across North and South America.

The video at the link is amazing when you realize that the energy wave is moving at the speed of light. Since the sun has a diameter of 864K miles you can watch a light wave travel in real time.

[MacWa77ace]

8 minutes to earth at the speed of light.
this left the sun on 12/14 and will hit earth on 12/17 three days later.

93,000,000 / (3x24) = 1,291,666 mph  or 21,527 mps

C = 186,000 mps

8.75% the speed of light

[majorhavoc]

We can see the flare 8 minutes after the fact, but whatever disruptive by-product that interferes with communications takes much longer to arrive. Because, as Mac says, it's moving much slower than the speed of light.

I'm pretty sure "sun burp" is not a scientific term. 

[EBuff75]

I'm pretty sure "sun burp" is not a scientific term. 

Yeah, but calling it a "sun belch" just makes everyone giggle! 

[Uomo Senza Nome]

We can see the flare 8 minutes after the fact, but whatever disruptive by-product that interferes with communications takes much longer to arrive. Because, as Mac says, it's moving much slower than the speed of light.

I'm pretty sure "sun burp" is not a scientific term. 

I was referring  specifically to the video that shows the effect across the surface of the sun. When you realize how vast the sun is and how large and fast the enrgy wave moves across it, it is an amazing display of scale.

[Moab]

So if it already caused a shortwave blackout? What might happen when it hits our atmosphere?

[Uomo Senza Nome]

So if it already caused a shortwave blackout? What might happen when it hits our atmosphere?

It's too small to kill us all so I would expect more radio issues, maybe regional power issues, geo magnetic storms and light shows.

[Moab]

So if it already caused a shortwave blackout? What might happen when it hits our atmosphere?

It's too small to kill us all so I would expect more radio issues, maybe regional power issues, geo magnetic storms and light shows.

Do we know what time on Sunday?