Are solar storms dangerous to us?

Storms on the sun can release charged particles that can travel up to several million miles per hour and sometimes strikes Earth. Is this dangerous?

Find out at:

http://earthsky.org/space/are-solar-storms-dangerous-to-us

giant spot on the sun

There’s a giant spot on the sun, and it’s acting weird
Read all about it



BY JENNY MARDER  

Flux: 89 A-index: 5 K-Index: 1

Last week I posted a high above 200 for the solar flux. Today the solar flux is 89, this is the lowest I have observed in the past 45 years. What's going on ol' Sol ??
http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/index.shtml

What's the sun doing

If you are a Radio Amateur it is very important to know the solar flux numbers. Also if your worried about the end of the world you need to know what the sun is doing on a daily basis. As a Ham Radio Operator I view this page every day.

http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/index.shtml

Solar Storm Heads Toward Earth

As a radio armature (ham) we are always interested in what the sun is doing. The sun's activity makes it possible to communicate around the world. The sun cycles in eleven year intervals. We are now just at the beginning of such a cycle. The present cycle has been a slow starter compared to ones in the past. This storm just may be the start of a good thing for us Hams....... Jack


According to SpaceWeather.com and the SOHO web site, on February 14th at 8:56 PM EST, the Sun produced its largest solar flare in over four years, which was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME). It has been rated as a Class X2 flare, the largest in the new solar cycle. This solar explosion occurred from sunspot cluster 1158 and followed two smaller CMEs that occurred during the previous two days. How do solar flares work and how will this event affect us? Read more about it at:
http://blog.timesunion.com/weather/space-weather-solar-storm-heads-toward-earth/767/
and
http://www.spaceweather.com/

Solar radio flux

Emission from the Sun at centimetric (radio) wavelength is due primarily to coronal plasma trapped in the magnetic fields overlying active regions.^[15] The F10.7 index is a measure of the solar radio flux per unit frequency at a wavelength of 10.7 cm, near the peak of the observed solar radio emission. It represents a measure of diffuse, nonradiative heating of the coronal plasma trapped by magnetic fields over active regions, and is an excellent indicator of overall solar activity levels. The solar F10.7 cm record extends back to 1947, and is the longest direct record of solar activity available, other than sunspot-related quantities. Sunspot activity has a major effect on long distance radio communications particularly on the shortwave bands although medium wave and low VHF frequencies are also affected. High levels of sunspot activity lead to improved signal propagation on higher frequency bands, although they also increase the levels of solar noise and ionospheric disturbances. These effects are caused by impact of the increased level of solar radiation on the ionosphere. It has been proposed that 10.7 cm solar flux can interfere with point-to-point terrestrial communications.^[16]

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