Long duration X 1.1 solar flare erupted at earth
Ben's update in about an hour here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTiL1q9YbrVam5nP2xzFTWQ
From SpaceWeatherNews:
STRONG X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: The sun just produced a solar flare so strong, it took two sunspots to make it. The long-duration X1.1-class flare started on March 23rd around 0130 UT when both AR3615 and AR3615 erupted. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the double blast.
This is called a "sympathetic solar flare." Sympathetic flares are pairs of flares that occur almost simultaneously in widely-spaced sunspots, not by chance, but because of an unseen physical connection. Nearly-invisible magnetic loops in the sun's corona connect some sunspots, allowing explosive instabilities to travel from one to the other. Some sympathetic flares are so much alike, they are considered to be twins.
This X-class event lasted for more than 5 hours, plenty of time to lift a CME out of the sun's atmosphere. Confirmation awaits fresh data from SOHO coronagraphs; stay tuned.