There she blows! Sunspot region 4274 with it's complex Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic layout delivers on her promise and just produced the very first X-class solar flare since June this year!
The long duration event topped at X1.8 (R3-strong) at 17:34 UTC. The eruption looks impressive on the animation below from SolarDemon but the eruption does not seem very wide. We have to keep in mind that this region is not yet in a prime earth-facing location so any ejecta might miss our planet but we will keep an eye on coronagraph imagery and report back if there is an earth-directed component. In the coming days, this region will rotate into a more earth-facing position which means any strong solar flares which produce a CME will have a higher likelyhood to impact our planet. An exciting week might be in store for us!
