Sunspot AR3341 produced a class X1.1 flare.
A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by the Sun has caused an X-class solar flare, which may not directly affect our planet: despite this, according to a NASA model, it will involve Venus and Mars. The arrival on Venus, scheduled for tomorrow, could perhaps dent a small part of the Venusian upper atmosphere, while the arrival on Mars, scheduled for June 25, could cause visible auroras for MAVEN and other orbiters around the red planet. The new sunspot AR3341 caused an explosion yesterday, at 19:09, with a class X1.1 solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the ultraviolet flash.
Radiation from the flare ionized the Earth’s upper atmosphere, resulting in an intense shortwave radio blackout in areas of North America. Aviators and radio amateurs could have caught a loss of signal at frequencies below 30 MHz for more than twenty minutes after the blast, as reported by the specialized portal SpaceWeather.com. SOHO coronagraphers have since recorded a CME rising from the site of the‘explosion. Type II solar radio emissions detected by the US Air Force suggest an expansion rate exceeding 1000 kilometers per second.