Sunspot Cluster Ejects Huge Radiation Storm 2005 01 22 By Kelly
Young | NewScientist.com The Sun spewed forth a massive amount
of radiation this week, causing brilliant auroras and a radio
blackout. Since 14 January alone, it has unleashed at least 17
medium and five large solar flares from a single sunspot
cluster. Forecasters at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) expect medium to high solar activity to
continue until 23 January. "Having so many big flares from one
particular region of the Sun is quite something," says Bernhard
Fleck, project scientist for the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory satellite. The X-rays produced by the flares did not
rise to the level of the notorious solar storms of October and
November 2003, but in terms of high-energy protons, this is the
largest radiation storm since October 1989. Solar flares occur
when energy stored in magnetic fields above sunspots is suddenly
released. In this case, the offending sunspot grew into a
cluster eight times the diam