The X-class flare, and the subsequent powerful M9 flare, emitted by AR2975 did indeed take place on the Earth-facing side of the Sun, but that's not a guarantee of geomagnetic storms. Unless you were out taking pictures of auroras, you probably didn't notice much of anything. They can cause some radio and navigation blackouts, maybe some power grid fluctuations, and spectacular aurorae lighting up the polar skies as particles, accelerated along Earth's magnetic field lines, are deposited at the poles, where they interact with the atmosphere.Ĭase in point: a massive CME associated with two of AR2975's M-class flares should have arrived at Earth in the last few days, triggering a strong geomagnetic storm. Mostly, these will go more or less unnoticed by us lowly surface-dwellers. A massive belch of solar particles is launched into interplanetary space when these particles collide with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, geomagnetic storms are triggered. When solar flares, and their associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are unleashed in the general direction of Earth, shenanigans can ensue. The most powerful flare on record ever to lash Earth was an X28 flare that took place in November 2003. At time of writing, AR2975 has emitted 36 flares: one small B-class flare, 29 middling C-class flares, 9 of the more powerful M-class flares, and this one X-class monster.Įach class of flares is ten times more powerful than the previous, with multiple grades within the class.
#Mflare from sun series#
30), reported (opens in new tab).It's the most powerful of a series of flares emitted by the region. The coronal mass ejection from a Tuesday flare up of AR2887 could deliver a "glancing blow" to Earth sometime on Friday (Oct. The sunspot was responsible for two moderate M-class solar flares earlier in the day, according to (opens in new tab), which also tracks daily sun weather. Thursday's flare originated from a sunspot called AR2887 currently positioned in the center of the sun and facing the Earth, based on its location. Thursday's flare appeared to also spawn a coronal mass ejection, SWPC officials said. Such eruptions send charged particles out from the sun at a whopping 1 million mph (1.6 million kph) or more, and typically take a few days to reach Earth.
They can also be accompanied by a massive eruption of solar particles, called a coronal mass ejection. When they are aimed directly at Earth, the most powerful X-class flares can interfere with radio and satellite communications and supercharge the planet's aurora displays. Flares that are classified X10 or stronger are considered unusually intense." "An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. "X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength," NASA officials explained in a statement (opens in new tab). Flares are classified in a letter system, with C-class storms being relatively weak, M-class more moderate and X-class flares as the strongest. Solar flares are massive eruptions of radiation from the sun that send charged particles streaming outward from the star. "POW! The sun just served up a powerful flare," NASA officials wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab) alongside a photo of the flare. The greatest missions to the sun of all time What's inside the sun? A star tour from the inside out The sun's wrath: Worst solar storms in history
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