GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH NOVEMBER 30TH TO DECEMBER 1ST

From SpaceWeather.com:

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G3): Three and perhaps four CMEs are heading for Earth following a series of explosions on the sun this week. Estimated time of arrival: Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st. The biggest of the CMEs, launched on Nov. 28th, could sweep up some of the earlier, lesser ones, forming a Cannibal CME capable of sparking strong G3-class geomagnetic storms with mid-latitude auroras.

ALMOST-X CLASS SOLAR FLARE: Sunspot AR3500 erupted on Nov. 28th (1950 UT), producing an M9.8-class solar flare (only percentage points below category X). NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast:

A pulse of extreme ultraviolet radiation blacked out shortwave radio communications across the South Pacific Ocean and parts of the Americas: map. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below ~20 MHz for as much as an hour after the flare.

Of greater interest is the CME. The explosion hurled one directly toward Earth. This SOHO coronagraph movie shows a halo cloud expanding in our direction faster than 800 km/s (1.8 million mph):

According to a NASA model, this CME will strike Earth midday (UT) on Dec. 1st. It might sweep up one of several slower CMEs ahead of it. If so, it could form a Cannibal CME capable of causing a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm.