"Only" an X5 flare(!)

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Soundtrack: A1.1M stereo WAV file, recorded by Thomas Ashcraft, New Mexico. A good example of a "radio sweep", starting at higher frequencies and going down. Tip: Use headphones, the left channel (50 MHz) burst starts before the right channel (29 MHz). The soundtrack starts at 19:13:41 UT.

Caption: As the now-famous AR9393 region rotated out of sight around the west limb, active region AR9415 came on to the disk. And although less impressive in terms of sunspot area, it showed signs of trouble: Complex magnetic field configurations and high gradients.

And sure enough, it packed a punch: An X5.6 flare went off at 19:10 UT on Friday 6 April 2001, peaking in X-rays at 19:21.

Other links:

• Today's Space Weather from SEC/NOAA.
• SpaceWeather.com
• Our Current Space Weather summary.
• Tom Ashcraft's home page with more sound files and annotation.

Instruments: Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI); Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT);
Taken: 6 April 2001.
Picture credit: SOHO/MDI and SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA)