That’s really a lot of energy emitted by the Sun:
The “Bastille Day” flare as seen by EIT in the 195 Å emission line.
Image: NASA.It took the Bastille Day CME [Coronal Mass Ejection of July 14, 2000] months to reach the distant spacecraft–180 days to Voyager 2, and 245 days to Voyager 1. Being near the edge of the solar system, both spacecraft were naturally bathed in high levels of cosmic rays. The CME swept aside that ambient radiation, creating a temporary reduction called a “Forbush Decrease.” Conditions returned to normal 3 to 4 months later and, finally, the storm was over. [spaceweather.com]
And it lasted 3-4 months? Wow.
