X-FLARES IN THE OFFING? Sunspot AR2403 continues to grow. It has more than quadrupled in area since Friday and now stretches across an expanse of the sun’s surface more than 130,000 km wide. Of greater significance, it has a “beta-gamma-delta” magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful X-class solar flares. As this photo shows, the sunspot is almost directly facing Earth:
“I got a good view of AR2304 on Aug. 22nd,” reports photographer Ian Griffin of Portobello, New Zealand. “The rocket-like object beside the sunspot is a large TV transmission mast, some 5km away. A stunning sight!”
AR2304 is now crackling with M-class solar flares–four in the past 24 hours alone. This is causing a series of minor radio blackouts at frequencies mainly below 5 to 10 MHz. Ham radio operators and mariners are the type of people who might notice such events. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of more M-class solar flares and a 10% chance of X-flares in the next 24 hours.
Dancing With Fools 
Hot stuff!
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Carol, You can, in Firefox, right click “View Image”, copy the address bar and paste it here AFTER any text you write.
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No, I want to post photos from one of my folders. Like we can do on FB. I don’t think we can do that here.
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Musta been a solar blast, knocked everyone off line, no new e-mails either,
AAAIIIIEEEEE!
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I slept in very late, it being Sunday and too thick out for stick walking.
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On my way to the Nuevo Vallarta the yellow sporty came down Monroe and also I had to walk past a yellow Chevy pickup. Horrors, what is the world coming to?
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Bad taste in automotive car color?
In the ’50’s, Ford had a color scheme called the Bumblebee. Yellow with black trim. Interior to match.
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The yellow jeep has a black convertible cover. In comparison it isn’t bad.
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I don’t remember that, Jim. But I DO remember Bumble Bee in “Transformers!”
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So thick out there that I could not see the sun although it was still before sunset. Visibility slightly less than a mile.
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Do you mean fog?
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Or smoke?
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Smoke from the dozen or so wildfires burning in eastern Washington. About 6000 fire fighters at work.
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Fire fighters coming from as far away as Australia.
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