A really big flare

The Sun chucked an X-17 level flare at us this morning — not something that happens every day. SpaceWeather.com suggests that it’s been quite a few years since the Sun last threw a flare like this. And the associated CME was unusual, too: not just a one-sided solar sneeze, but a “halo” CME. We may get aurorae tonight: I hope our sky clears up (for today it started to rain in that peculiarly persistent Irish kind of way, after having held off from such behavior for a good while).