Huge Solar Flare

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28370, 31 August 1957, Page 4

Huge Solar Flare

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 29. A solar flare, described as one of the largest ever recorded, was sighted at observatories all over Europe yesterday. The flare is probably associated with a large sunspot sighted some days ago, and is likely to affect radio transmitting conditions until about September 5. The flare, which was 30deg south and 35deg east on the sun's surface, was large and of longer duration than normal. The observatory at Salts] oebaden, outside Stockholm, today noted one of the most violent sunspot eruptions it has ever recorded. The international wireless station at Enkoeping, northwest of Stockholm, reported that about half its foreign communications had been cut off by atmospheric disturbances. The particular significance of a solar flare is that it usually causes a complete fade-out of high frequency radio signals over the part of the world in daylight at the time of the flare.