I will post this here as ham radio operators are usually interested in propagation, however, a solar flare can be a serious threat. If you think Solar flares can not be a big threat, think again, they can be. If you haven't considered the results of an X-class flare hitting earth, take the time to consider the likely outcome in a worst case event.

Solar cycle 24 is now on the upswing, with the flux numbers now into the 90's, whoopee. For those radio amateurs now is the time to dust off your 10 meter rig. For those for us that like to keep an eye on potential threats, solar conditions are something you may want to watch. To stay tuned to the latest solar conditions the following resources will help.

http://solarcycle24.com/

this a nice place to view loads of information at a single glance.

Notice the spectacular sun photos there and the other sites below, detailing the sun spots. Sun spots 1045 and 1046 are visible in the current photo, with a forecast (next 24 hours), Class M flare, 70 percent, and 20 percent chance of them generating an X-Class flare, maybe something to keep an eye on. Sunspot 1046 produced an 8.3 M flair this morning resulting is some radio blackout. You can view a time laps video of this event at this web site, kind of scary stuff. If you remember some years back an X-class event shut down the Canadian electrical grid. The resulting Aurora was briefly visible all the way down here in Texas when that happened, wow.

FYI, an X-class solar flare could launch a CME (coronal mass ejection) at earth. If such an event took place, we would likely lose satellites, not sure I even want to speculate there, but something we should be aware of. I know, you are asking what affect would a would a few trillion watts dumped into the earth's upper atmosphere have, ha. A large CME would have the same end result as an EMP attack.

Second........

This podcast is typically a monthly radio propagation podcast, also available via I-tunes for those so inclined.

http://g0kya.blogspot.com/2010/02/g0kya ... t-for.html

Other web sites to keep an eye on solar conditions are listed below, and a link to wikipedia, for more about CME .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/spaceweather/

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html

http://www.spaceweather.com/