INTENSIFYING SOLAR ACTIVITY: The sun unleashed another X-class solar flare today, causing a deep shortwave radio blackout over southeast Asia and Australia.  Intensifying solar activity has resulted in more than 19 flares during the past 24 hours alone. Even farside sunspots are getting in on the act. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Don’t miss another solar flare: Subscribers to our Space Weather Alert Service received a text message about today’s X-flare while it was happening.
 
Above: An X2.2-class solar flare on April 20, 2022. Credit: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

NAKED-EYE SUNSPOTS: Yesterday in Poland, a flock of cranes flew across the setting sun. Among them were sunspots. “Active sunspot complex AR2993-94 is so big that it was easily visible to the naked eye,” says Marek Nikodem, who photographed the flyby:

It’s true. The primary dark cores of AR2993-94 are twice as wide as Earth. Technically, this makes them “naked-eye” objects. Be careful, though. Looking at the sun can damage your eyes. Safe solar filters are strongly recommended.

Earth itself provided the filter for Nikodem’s photo. Low-hanging clouds and haze dimmed the sun enough for photography. Just to be on the safe side, though, he pointed his camera using the electronic viewscreen–not the optical viewfinder.

more images: from Carlos Stehli of Lima, Peru; from Thom Peck of Poway, California; from Daisuke Tomiyasu of Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan; from David Kriegler of Gulf Shores, Alabama; from Paolo Bardelli of Sumirago (Varese), Italy