CME - X2 SOLAR FLARE(2014-12-19 23:01:19 - 2014-12-20 05:00:31 UTC)

Big sunspot AR2242 erupted on Saturday, Dec. 20th @ 00:27 UT, producing an intense solar flare. A pulse of X-rays and UV radiation from the flare reached Earth minutes after the explosion. This “solar EMP“ ionized our planet’s upper atmosphere and blacked out HF radio communications over Australia and the South Pacific. Below 10 MHz, transmissions were strongly attenuated for more than two hours. The explosion also hurled a CME into space. Although the instigating flare was Earth-directed, it a