Cycle 24 Battles On

Courtesy: http://www.nasa.gov
It seems there are still a few surprises left in the strange life of Cycle 24. Yesterday's major X1.6 solar flare seems to be nicely positioned for an earth-impact on Friday. The blast follows an earlier M4.5 flare the day before and the one-two combination could deliver some interesting VHF propagation as the solar stream impacts our planet.

Courtesy: http://www.nasa.gov

Video of the event shows what looks like a near full-on earth-directed hit but for a northerly component. Only time will tell.




Sky watchers as well as VHFers should be alert for possibly major auroral displays on Friday or Saturday.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

2 Responses to “Cycle 24 Battles On”

  • Joe KB3PHL:

    Well this explains all the terrible static on the HF bands the past couple of days making it really difficult to get all of the Route 66 Special event stations.

  • Steve VE7SL:

    Yes….plus a couple of HF blackouts for an hour or so. Hopefully condx will be a bit better once these events pass by the planet but I see we have had three more flares today ! Cycle 24 is not going away quietly.

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