Today, June 12th at 0055 UT, new sunspot 1081 unleashed an impulsive M1-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast in high-resolution:
Image
© NASA

The explosion hurled a billion-ton coronal mass ejection (CME) off the sun's western limb; the cloud will probably not hit Earth. The explosion also produced a Type II radio burst. "Although the Sun was setting here in New Mexico, I was able to record the burst at 28 MHz and 24 MHz," says amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft. "Here is an audio file. The slow swoosh is radio noise from the sun!"

The M2-flare was followed at 0917 UT by an even more picturesque C6-flare. SDO recorded that one, too: movie, still frame. More flares seem likely as restless sunspot 1081 continues to grow. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.