SOLAR FlARE STORM WARNING May 11 2012
The almost-X class explosion did not hurl a significant CME toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-class flares and a 20% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.
SOLAR ACTIVITY: Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger. The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the sun.
On May 10th around 0418 UT, sunspot 1476 unleashed an impulsive M5-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
