{"id":422345,"date":"2026-01-21T09:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T08:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422345"},"modified":"2026-01-21T09:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T08:57:57","slug":"x-class-solar-flare-cme-headed-toward-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422345","title":{"rendered":"X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE \u2013 CME headed toward Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"715\" data-attachment-id=\"422347\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=422347\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?fit=965%2C954&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"965,954\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"00Screenshot 2026-01-21 090947\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?fit=723%2C715&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?resize=723%2C715&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Image of the Sun displaying solar activity, including flares and textures, in a bright teal hue.\" class=\"wp-image-422347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?w=965&amp;ssl=1 965w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?resize=300%2C297&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?resize=768%2C759&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?resize=640%2C633&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2026\/01\/19\/x-class-solar-flare-cme-headed-toward-earth\/\">Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceweather.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SpaceWeather.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A full-halo CME is heading for Earth following a long-duration X1.9-class solar flare on Jan. 18th. The CME\u2019s\u00a0<strong>arrival on Jan. 20th<\/strong>\u00a0could spark strong geomagnetic storms with\u00a0<strong>auroras at mid-latitudes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sunspot 4341 erupted on Jan. 18th (1809 UTC), producing an X1.9-class solar flare. The explosion lasted for hours, which makes this flare even more powerful than its \u201cX1.9\u201d rating would suggest. This video from NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamics Observatory says it all: (animation may take a few seconds to load)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wattsupwiththat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/xflare_1-18-26_anim.gif?resize=720%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10425466\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Radiation from the flare ionized Earth\u2019s atmosphere over the Americas,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceweather.com\/images2026\/18jan26\/blackoutmap.jpg\">especially South America<\/a>. This caused a shortwave radio blackout that may have lasted more than an hour at frequencies below 10 MHz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of greater interest is the CME. The explosion launched\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceweather.com\/images2026\/18jan26\/halocme_strip.gif\">a full halo CME<\/a>\u00a0with a significant Earth- directed component.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceweather.com\/images2026\/18jan26\/nasamodel.gif\">NASA models<\/a>\u00a0predict that it will reach Earth during the early hours of Jan. 20th. The impact could cause a strong\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceweather.com\/glossary\/g3.jpg\">G3<\/a>&#8211; class geomagnetic storm with mid-latitude auroras. Stay tuned for updated forecast models.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A full-halo CME is heading for Earth following a long-duration X1.9-class solar flare on Jan. 18th. The CME\u2019s\u00a0arrival on Jan. 20th\u00a0could spark strong geomagnetic storms with\u00a0auroras at mid-latitudes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":422347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9jbGltYXRlLXNjaWVuY2UucHJlc3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzAxXC8wMFNjcmVlbnNob3QtMjAyNi0wMS0yMS0wOTA5NDcucG5nP2ZpdD03MjMlMkM3MTUmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJYLUNMQVNTIFNPTEFSIEZMQVJFIFx1MjAxMyBDTUUgaGVhZGVkIHRvd2FyZCBFYXJ0aCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.45U5_Dph6gtnn7CF2l6s_fK2CLR0tcKZbDSzR9jB734MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691840849,691818959,691840848,691840847],"class_list":{"0":"post-422345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-auroras-at-mid-latitudes","9":"tag-nasas-solar-dynamics-observatory","10":"tag-strong-geomagnetic-storms","11":"tag-x1-9-class-solar-flare","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/00Screenshot-2026-01-21-090947.png?fit=965%2C954&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1LS1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":228026,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=228026","url_meta":{"origin":422345,"position":0},"title":"21 years Ago, A Severe Geomagnetic Storm","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Young Solar Cycle 25 has already produced 8 similar X-flares since 2021. None of the related CMEs delivered a direct hit, however.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0heiko-ulbricht-polarlicht_1667690000.webp?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0heiko-ulbricht-polarlicht_1667690000.webp?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0heiko-ulbricht-polarlicht_1667690000.webp?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0heiko-ulbricht-polarlicht_1667690000.webp?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":278735,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=278735","url_meta":{"origin":422345,"position":1},"title":"\u201cStealthy CME\u201d Sparks Geomagnetic\u00a0Storm","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"(Spaceweather.com) An unexpected CME\u00a0hit\u00a0Earth\u2019s magnetic field on Sept. 12th (1237 UT) and sparked a\u00a0G2-class geomagnetic storm. 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This fueled a display of auroras photographed as far south as\u00a0Missouri\u00a0(+40.2N) and\u00a0Nebraska\u00a0(+40.9N).","rel":"","context":"In \"CME\"","block_context":{"text":"CME","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=cme"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00Matthew-Merrell-9-12-1_1694615910.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00Matthew-Merrell-9-12-1_1694615910.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00Matthew-Merrell-9-12-1_1694615910.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00Matthew-Merrell-9-12-1_1694615910.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/00Matthew-Merrell-9-12-1_1694615910.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":216363,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=216363","url_meta":{"origin":422345,"position":2},"title":"Earth Just Dodged a lot of CMEs","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It seemed like sunspot AR3088 would never stop exploding.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0almostx.gif?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0almostx.gif?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0almostx.gif?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0almostx.gif?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":254404,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254404","url_meta":{"origin":422345,"position":3},"title":"An Earth-Directed Explosion on the Sun","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Earth is in the strike zone. 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The action began at 1949 UTC when the filament rose up and sliced through the sun\u2019s atmosphere","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0Screenshot-2023-02-26-115130.png?fit=836%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0Screenshot-2023-02-26-115130.png?fit=836%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0Screenshot-2023-02-26-115130.png?fit=836%2C566&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0Screenshot-2023-02-26-115130.png?fit=836%2C566&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=422345"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422350,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422345\/revisions\/422350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/422347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=422345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=422345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=422345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}