SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #05-1

2005 January 14 at 03:51 p.m. MST (2005 January 14 2251 UTC)

**** RAPIDLY GROWING SUNSPOT REGION ****

On 10 January, a new sunspot group emerged and was assigned NOAA Region number 720. This sunspot group has grown rapidly and currently has an area of 1540 millionths of the size of the Solar disk (about 18 times the size of the Earth). So far this region has only produced minor flare activity (R1). However, its growth and complexity suggest that it is capable of moderate to strong levels of flare activity (R2 to R3 levels) during the next 7 days.

These types of flares lead to HF radio blackouts. The effects range from minor degradation of HF communication (R1), up to wide area blackouts on the daylit side of the earth for about an hour (R3).

Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services and other observatories, universities, and institutions. For more information, including email services, see SEC's Space Weather Advisories Web site http://sec.noaa.gov/advisories or (303) 497-5127.

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