SPACE WIRE
Gigantic solar flare was biggest recorded
PARIS (AFP) Nov 07, 2003
A massive flare disgorged by the Sun this week was the biggest ever recorded, although the Earth will luckily escape most of its blast of radiation, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported here Friday.

"The massive solar X-ray which occurred on November 4 was, at best estimate, an X28," ESA said.

"There is still a small chance this will be revised by a small amount, but it is now official. We have a new No. 1 X-ray flare for the record books, the most powerful in recorded observational history."

The previous biggest flare on record was rated an X20. Flares of that magnitude were recorded on August 16 1989 and again on April 2 2001.

Solar flares are a magnetic storm on the surface of the Sun that spew out gas into space.

This material is then heated to a super-high temperature, producing a burst of radiation that depending on its intensity and direction can cripple orbiting satellites and disrupt telecommunications on Earth.

Flares are graded according to their brightness in the X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The lowest is C-class, which are small and have few noticeable consequences on Earth; next is M (for medium) class, which can cause brief radio blackouts in the polar regions; the biggest is the X-class flares.

X-class flares are "major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the whole world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere," ESA said.

However, the mammoth X28-rated flare should not inflict any significant damage.

"Only part of the (ejection) is directed towards Earth, so we expect the Earth will receive only a glancing blow, since the source region is pointing away from us on the right on the limb of the Sun, as seen from Earth."

This region, a sunspot area known as 486, has been extremely turbulent for the past two weeks or so, apparently as part of an 11-year circle of solar activity.

Superhot particles disgorged by solar flares collide with the Earth's magnetic field, causing a spectacular pink, green and violet shimmering in the skies in high and low latitudes.

ESA and NASA have been monitoring the latest flares through telescopes and satellites, notably the jointly-owned Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which is stationed 1.5 million kilometres away (930,000 miles) from the Earth.

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