TODAY IS THE SOLSTICE. Whichever hemisphere you live in -- today is the solstice. For northerners, it is the summer solstice; for southerners, the winter solstice. Northern summer and southern winter begin at precisely the same time: 10:42 p.m. EDT on June 20th, 02:42 Universal time, on June 21st. SOLSTICE SOLAR FLARES: As the solstice sun hangs high in the skies of the northern hemisphere, our planet is getting hit by solar flares. In the past week there have been two X-class, one near-X, and dozens of lesser flares. Each of the spikes in the graph above represents a pulse of X-radiation hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, ionizing the air at the edge of space. This has caused a rolling series of shortwave radio communication blackouts around our planet. The deepest blackouts occured on June 15th, North America, June 17th, Hawaii, and June 19-20th, Hawaii. During those events, ham radio operators would have noticed loss of signal at frequencies below 25 MHz. As northern summer begins, the flares are set to continue. Their source is unstable sunspot 4114, which will remain on the Earthside of the sun for a few more days before it disappears over the sun's western limb. Dates of special interest include June 23-24, when the sunspot will be magnetically connected to Earth via the Parker Spiral. Any flares around that time will accelerate energetic protons directly toward our planet and could spark a solar radiation storm. Prepare for earthquakes in the magnitude 5-7 range in the coming days and weeks. As always, prepare with food, water and medicines. Stay safe. Stay tuned for more updates.