A powerful M-class solar ejection caused widespread shortwave radio outages in the South Pacific on February 6. Space storm affected Australia and Southeast Asian countries portal space weather
Mariners and radio amateurs in the area noticed signal loss at frequencies below 30 MHz for a full hour after the peak of the flash.
The radio outage was attributed to a powerful pulse of X-ray and ultraviolet rays that reached Earth just eight minutes after the solar flare. This radiation ionized the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere in the part of the planet illuminated by the star.
Additionally, the Sun ejected a giant cloud of plasma at a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour. If this material reaches Earth, it can disrupt satellites by causing disturbances in the magnetic field and can also manifest as auroras at high latitudes.
Astronomers say the last solar flare did not threaten our planet because the burst was closer to the sun’s south pole, so the plasma cloud will almost certainly pass below us.
Australia half an hour early loss Radio communication due to a powerful space storm.