Watch this video:

http://3d-sun.org/images2012/02jul12/ipad/m6.m4v

Big sunspot AR1515 erupted on July 2nd at 10:52 UT, producing an M5.6-class solar flare that almost crossed the threshold into X-territory. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash: SDO movie

A pulse of x-rays and UV radiation from the flare illuminated Earth’s upper atmosphere, producing waves of ionization over Europe. Such waves alter the propagation of low-frequency radio transmissions. In Lofoten, Norway, Rob Stammes recorded the ionospheric disturbance using a 60 kHz receiver.

The eruption also hurled a CME into space, but not directly toward Earth. The south-traveling cloud could deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetosphere on July 4th or 5th. Stay tuned for updates.