THE FLYOVER – A strong solar flare erupted from a newly formed massive sunspot last Sunday, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue a geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday.
The flare disrupted radio communications across Australia and parts of Southeast Asia and was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection that could impact power grids, navigation signals, and radio systems.
The agency says the timing of the disruption remains uncertain, and the storm could arrive as early as today, with additional activity possible as sunspot AR4299 rotates to face Earth this week.