According to the SpaceWeather.com website, there was an X-magnitude (the highest level) flare on the Sun today. These high-level explosions happen from time to time, but most times, the CME (coronal mass ejection) that's released -- which creates strong solar winds -- is not directed toward the Earth.
Today's X-flare apparently was directly facing Earth when it exploded, and so scientists anticipate we will be in the path of a strong solar wind that will reach us sometime in the next 2 to 3 days.
This is NOT (I repeat, NOT) a cataclysmic event, but since we are electromagnetic beings, we are likely to feel the effects on various levels. The primary concern for scientists is the potential for communications disturbances, since these types of events have caused blackouts periodically.
At the very least, this event will allow each of us to see how strong solar winds affect us, since we have forewarning.
The exact timing? Unknown, as yet. Here's what SpaceWeather says:
"In the next few hours, when coronagraph data from SOHO and STEREO become
available, we will see if a CME emerges from the blast site. If so, the
cloud would likely be aimed directly at Earth and could reach our
planet in 2 to 3 days. Stay tuned..."
I'll be checking in on their website for updates -- if you're interested, here's the link:
SpaceWeather
I'll post more here, too, if I find out anything of import.
Postscript, Sunday, September 14: My experience of the last few days has not been extreme in any regard -- however, I was aware of an increased nervousness/anxiety on Wednesday and Thursday, right after the X-flare exploded. That would be in keeping with the pulse of new energy that reaches us right away when a solar flare occurs. And, since then, I've been aware of my dreams being both exceptionally complex and yet also fading faster than I can bring them into full memory when I awake. Perhaps that is a symptom of the integration of new information, and a level of adjustment/adaptation that does not necessarily need to be brought fully into conscious awareness, since the work is being done on deeper levels.
The nervousness has subsided over the last two days. Anyone else have a similar experience, or a different sense of the solar flare's effects?