SoftTouch
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SUN ON FIRE, UNLEASHES 3 MORE MAJOR FLARES
November 4, 2003
Space.com reports: "The Sun cut loose with three severe flares in less than 24 hours through Monday morning, bringing to nine the number of major eruptions in less than two weeks.
Scientists have never witnessed a string of activity like this.
Colorful aurora are expected to grace the skies at high latitudes and possibly into lower portions of the United States and Europe over the next two or three nights. Satellites and power grids could once again be put at risk.
Early Monday, Paal Brekke, deputy project manager of the SOHO spacecraft, was still digesting the significance of the three additional outbursts on top of two back-to-back monster flares Oct. 28 and 29.
'I think the last week will go into the history books as one of the most dramatic periods of solar activity we have seen in modern time,' Brekke told SPACE.com.
None of the latest eruptions was aimed directly at Earth, but glancing blows are expected…"
SUN PRODUCES MONSTER SOLAR FLARE
November 5, 2003
BBC News reports: "The Sun has unleashed its largest recorded solar flare, capping 10 days of unprecedented activity for the star.
The blast sent billions of tones of super hot gas into space - some of it directed towards our planet.
Scientists say the Sun's current spate of activity has produced the most dramatic events seen on the solar surface since regular monitoring began.
Space weather forecasters have been kept busy tracking the impact of geomagnetic storms on the Earth.
Powerful solar flares are given an 'X' designation. There was an X8 and an X3 event on Sunday.
On Monday, there was an X3 flare followed by smaller ones.
Last week there were X7 and X10 events that took place back-to-back.
Tuesday's flare went off the scale; researchers say it was 'well above X20'.
This would make it the most powerful ever recorded, surpassing the X20 flares of 2 April 2001 and 16 August 1989.
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Psalm 119:104Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. 105Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
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