Monday April 2 11:17 PM ET

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20010402/us/brf_solar_flare_1.html

Solar Flare Goes Off the Charts

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Forecasters said a solar flare Monday was the most intense they have seen in the current 11-year-solar cycle.

Space weather forecasters had to estimate its intensity, X-22 on a scale that only goes to 20, after sensors on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite could no longer measure it. They said the measurement could be off by plus or minus 2.

The flare caused static on radio frequency used to navigate boats and planes. Pilots in northern regions of the globe Monday were kept waiting for takeoff after the flare occurred at 5:52 p.m. EST, said NOAA space weather forecaster Craig Sechrest.

A solar flare is an eruption on the surface of the sun that releases radiation and particles toward the earth.

On the Net:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noaa.gov

-- Swissrose (cellier3@mindspring.com), April 03, 2001