Solar Activity and Space Weather Update thread

[Stavros Kiri]

AN X-CLASS DOUBLE SOLAR FLARE: Solar activity remains high with an X-class double solar flare on Oct. 26th. The explosion hurled an impressive CME into space, and it appears to have an Earth-directed component. Several big sunspots are turning toward Earth, so this could be the beginning of a week of stormy space weather.

Above: An M9.5-X1.8 class double flare on Oct. 26th. Extreme ultraviolet movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

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[Stavros Kiri]

The Sun Just SWALLOWED A COMET: Today (Mon Oct. 28, 2024), Comet ATLAS (C/2024 S1) fell into the sun and did not survive. Using a coronagraph to create an artificial eclipse, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded the comet's final moments.

Above: One frame from a movie of Comet ATLAS disintegrating on Oct. 28, 2024. Credit: SOHO/LASCO

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