X-Class Solar Flares Cause Radio Blackouts in the Pacific, Upcoming Possible Cannibal CME

On August 9, a cannibal CME might be generated by a pair of X-class solar flares that also caused rounds of radio blackouts in the Pacific.

X-Class Solar Flares

A coronal mass ejection was also launched into space as a result of the first flare, which occurred on August 5 and was classified as an X1.6-class solar flare. This was followed by a second flare, an X1.5-class flare, that was released on August 7.

According to Rami Qahwaji, a professor of visual computing and expert on space weather at the University of Bradford in the UK, solar flares are classified according to their strength into five lettered categories: A, B, C, M, and X, with X-class flares being the most powerful.

These solar flares were X1.6 and X1.5 in intensity, which places them at the weaker end of the X-class range. About ten of these flares typically occur each year, according to Space.com.

Radio Blackouts in the Pacific

Shortwave radio blackouts were induced by recent flares that struck Earth. Ham radio operators and mariners in the Pacific experienced signal loss at frequencies under 30 MHz.

Solar flares are surges of X-ray radiation that originate from the sun's surface, typically from sunspots or other regions with intense magnetic activity. The flare will be more intense the more magnetic energy that has accumulated and been released.

Due to their impact on the magnetic field and atmosphere of the Earth, solar flares can result in radio blackouts. The ionosphere is typically used by high-frequency radio waves to bounce signals from the emitter to the receiver. The atmosphere is ionized by a flare's X-rays, which causes the radio waves to weaken or perhaps be fully absorbed.

Ionization may be created in the lower and denser D-layer of the ionosphere in the event of an M-class or X-class flare, according to Qahwaji.

Due to the increased frequency of collisions that take place in the D-layer's greater density environment as a result of this ionization, radio waves that come into contact with electrons may experience energy loss. This might result in a radio blackout or the degradation or complete absorption of HF high-frequency radio signals, which would prevent HF communication and predominantly affect the 3 to 30 MHz range.

Since airplanes frequently rely on long-range communications over vast isolated areas or oceans but have no ground-based radio networks in between, the civil aviation industry takes the most impact during radio blackouts such as this.

Also Read: Solar Storm Brings Northern Lights to 17 States, Experts Say View Away From City Lights 

Cannibal CME Coronal Mass Ejection

A coronal mass ejection, also known as a CME, is a stream of solar plasma ejected out from the sun and frequently occurs in conjunction with solar flares. This X1.6 flare was subsequently followed by a CME, but it will only make a passing impact on Earth on August 8 or 9. It may also combine with a different CME to generate a "cannibal" CME. The CME that followed the X1.5 flare is anticipated to completely miss the Earth.

A smaller CME becomes a cannibal CME when it is overrun and swallowed by a larger, faster-moving CME, eating and fusing the two solar plasma and radiation plumes.

Except for disrupting radio transmission, solar flares are mostly harmless. However, stronger flares may have considerably greater detrimental effects on Earth.

The most intense X-flare ever observed is believed to have happened in 2003, measuring a staggering X28, when a CME ejected from the surface of the Sun at a speed of roughly 2300 km/s.

The Carrington Event, which occurred in 1859, is generally regarded as the most major solar storm occurrence, according to Qahwaji via Newsweek.

If an event like the Carrington Event may occur now, it will cause damages to the US alone that will cost from $0.6 to $2.6 trillion, according to NASA Space Flight.

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