Massive storm erupts on surface of sun

Larry Sheldon sent me the following note this morning: "I noticed a bit ago that the little indicator in the upper left corner [of my personal screen, which has a solar activity X-ray indicator,] had changed from green ("Normal") to yellow ("Active") for the first time in a long time (2 years?)."

"The graph at http://www.n3kl.com/sun/images/noaa_xrays.gif? is sort of startling."

Not a solar expert, although I sometimes play one on TV, I asked Larry what he thought it meant. He responded, "With no authority whatever I think that is an artifact of the first (my estimate) really energetic sunspots in a long time."

Sure enough, SpaceWeather describes a massive solar storm that dwarfs anything seen in the last couple of years.

"Sunspot 1024 is crackling with B- and C-class solar flares. The activity is so intense, astronomers can't seem to take a picture of the sunspot without catching a flare in action. Pete Lawrence sends this example from his backyard observatory in Selsey, UK:

'Active region 1024 is putting on a fantastic show,' says Lawrence. 'The center of this region is incredibly bright and fluctuating.'

Solar observers haven't seen an active region like this one in more than two years. It is big, complex, and rapidly growing..."

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But not to worry: the Democrats' "Crap-and-Tax" plan will save our climate from the effects of solar storms.