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Late in the evening on June 20, 2011 the Sun emitted a long lasting C7.7 class flare (a relatively small flare) that peaked around 11:25p.m. EDT. The flare was associated with a coronal mass ejection that bloomed off the sun at 11:09p.m. EDT (0412 UT).
Spaceweather.com reports that according to analysts at the Goddard Space Flight Center Space Weather Lab, the CME left the sun traveling 800 km/s and it will reach Earth on June 23rd at 23:22 UT (plus or minus 7 hours). A very cool 3D heliospheric model (below) shows the cloud sweeping past our planet. The impact is expected to trigger a G2-class geomagnetic storm.
High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on June 23rd and 24. The season favors southern hemisphere observers, where skies are darker for longer due to the winter solstice.
Update: SDO posted this video of the event:
Sources: NASA, Spaceweather.com
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