SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #06- 2

2006 December 05 at 7:57 a.m. MST (2006 December 05 1457 UTC)

**** LATE SOLAR CYCLE FLARE ERUPTS ****

A strong radio blackout (R3) occurred today at 05/1035 UTC (05:35 a.m.

ET) due to a major flare on the Sun. The source of the flare was NOAA active sunspot Region 930, which was numbered yesterday as it made its appearance on the visible side of the Sun. This region is the return of old NOAA Region 923. A very bright flare was observed on the NOAA GOES satellite imagery, however, any associated ejected material is not likely to be Earth directed. Additional activity is likely from Region 930 as it rotates across the Sun, and additional major events could lead to a possibility of higher levels of radiation storms or geomagnetic storms over the next two weeks. Agencies impacted by solar flare radio blackouts, geomagnetic storms, and solar radiation storms should continue to closely monitor the space environment during the rotation of Region 930 across the Sun between now and its anticipated departure on 18 December.

Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services and other observatories, universities, and institutions. More information is available at SEC's Web site http://sec.noaa.gov