EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR FLARE & CME - September 09, 2014

EARTH-DIRECTED CME: The magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2158 erupted during the early hours of Sept. 9th, producing a long-duration M4-class solar flare and a bright coronal mass ejection (CME). Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory tracked the CME racing away from the sun at nearly 1000 kms:

Most of the storm cloud is heading north of the sun-Earth line, but not all. A fraction of the CME will deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field, probably during the late hours of Sept. 11th or early hours of Sept. 12th. In the past few weeks, glancing blows from minor CMEs have sparked beautiful auroras around the Arctic Circle. This CME could do the same. http://spaceweather.com/

Geomagnetic Storm Watch Issued
G2 (Moderate) Storm watch issued by NOAA/SWPC beginning early on Sept. 12. Geomagnetic conditions will of course depend on the strength of the actual incoming shock impact, followed by solar wind characteristics (Bz/IMF) in the hours following any such impact. The coronal mass ejection (CME) was the result of an M4.5 solar flare around region 2158 early Wednesday (UTC). More to follow in the days ahead.

http://www.solarham.net/

These pictures were taken by the Helioviewer.org  http://helioviewer.org/