On March 8, 2012 at 10:53 PM EST the sun erupted with an M6.3 class flare, and about an hour later released a coronal mass ejection (CME).

These eruptions came from active region 1429 that has so far produced two X class flares, and numerous M-class flares.

NASA’s Space Weather Center models measure the CME traveling at speeds of over 700 miles per second. The CME should reach Earth’s magnetosphere, the protective envelope of magnetic fields around the planet, early in the morning of March 11.

More news and media to come as it becomes available.

What is a solar flare? What is a coronal mass ejection?

For answers to these and other space weather questions, please visit theSpaceweather Frequently Asked Questions page.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

Source: NASA