July 18 2012 Class M1.8 CME Earthbound, The Gift that keeps on Giving ...

  
In all the years I've been looking at the sun I have never observed a CME that doesn't know when to quit. So after two hours we said wow two hours, but the two hours became three and then five. That was yesterday when AR11520 first flare out in a minor class C flare immediately followed by class M1.8 CME. The last time I checked it's still going.

In the meantime while waiting and observing, cleaning my monitor, cleaning my keyboard, filing my nails, I noticed this one huge flare erupt North, North/West of the limb, reach down towards the hemisphere and recoil back to ... wait ... the back of the sun? What the ...... ?
Without further hesitation I called on the ever faithful stand by STEREO B to take a peek behind the sun and there was the flare wanting a little spotlight for itself. I couldn't refuse.
Sunspot complex AR1520-1521 erupted on July 17th at 1715 UT. The M1-class explosion unfolded slowly over a period of hours. Slow explosions often produce CMEs, and this one was no exception; SOHO recorded the bright and massive cloud: According to a forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will hit Venus on July 19th and could deliver a glancing blow to Earth on July 20th.