Sun Unleashes Most Powerful Flare Since 2006 100
astroengine writes "Early Tuesday morning, the Sun unleashed a powerful X-class flare. The X7 flare is the most energetic explosion to come from the Sun since December 2006. Although the flare was directed away from the Earth, a minor proton storm was detected and some radio communications have been disrupted due to higher-than-normal rates of ionization in the Earth's ionosphere. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the whole event, imaging the flaring site and multi-million degree post-flare plasma."
Solar flare of 1859 was deadly (Score:4, Interesting)
Our sensitive microelectronics is very vulnerable to being wrecked by electromagnetic pulses, whether natural or set off by human enemies.
Regarding the huge "Carrington Event" solar flare of September 1, 1859, NASA reports that "Spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set the telegraph paper on fire." The Engineer [theengineer.co.uk] goes further and says, "The Carrington Storm caused fires and electrocuted workers at telegraph stations".