Update 08.01: Cygnus launch scrubbed due to space weather radiation

Just when you thought that the solar maximum was over… 

This note was sent in today by Juha-Pekka Luntama, Head of the Space Weather Segment in ESA’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme office.

SOHO Lasco C2 view of Sun 7 January 2014 at 18:36 UTC Credit: ESA/NASA

SOHO Lasco C2 view of Sun 7 January 2014 at 18:36 UTC Credit: ESA/NASA

As a result of a new X-class flare on the Sun last night, we’re having a prolonged ‘proton event‘ just now. This new flare took place exactly when the event triggered by the flare on Monday was decaying. The 10 MeV and 50 MeV proton flux levels are now substantially higher than they were after the first flare.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is also expected to arrive on 9 January early in the morning (between 02:00 and 07:00 GMT) and may trigger geomagnetic disturbances at the Earth and give some nice Aurora in the north, although you shouldn’t expect any serious effect on ground infrastructure.

Best regards,

– Jussi

Here’s the original alert sent out this morning from the SIDC in Brussels which forms part of ESA’s SSA Space Weather Network