Yet Another CME and M-Class Flare

On Sunday, Jan. 28th, sunspot group 9313 unleashed an M1-class solar flare and a brilliant coronal mass ejection (CME). Although the brightest part of the CME billowed away from the Sun's western limb (and away from our planet), SOHO coronagraphs revealed a faint halo component, the telltale sign of Earth-directed material. Our magnetosphere will likely experience a glancing blow from the expanding cloud late Tuesday.