Tuesday’s large solar flare may have disrupted Mideast radio systems

National Journal : Tuesday’s solar flare may be responsible for knocking out high-frequency radio-communications systems in the Middle East, according to Joe Kunches, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. NASA, which eyeballed Tuesday’s solar flare with its Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, described it as the largest of the current 11-year solar cycle and said it was three times bigger than the previous large flare in February, writes Bob Brewin for National Journal. The Space Weather Prediction Center uses a number of satellites to develop its forecasts, which can alert people to the flares and allow them to take action to preserve power grids and other high-tech assets. Kunches, who said Tuesday’s was the largest flare since 2006, declined to predict what space weather would be like in 2013, when the current solar cycle is expected to peak.