The Sun just launched its strongest flare in a decade and scientists have a warning for Earth
It's the biggest of the current solar cycle.
The largest flare of this solar cycle has erupted from the sun, and it could lead to radio blackouts on parts of Earth.
‘Not done yet!’ the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced in an update, sharing that the eruption was a whopping X8.7-class flare – the largest of the current 11-year solar cycle.
It came from a sunspot on the Sun’s surface which has been erupting for several days. On May 10, it released an X5.8-class flare, and yesterday two X-class flares erupted from the Sun measuring at X1.7 and X1.3.
The sunspot, which has been designated AR3664, is 15 times wider than Earth, stretching 124,000 miles across.
The solar flares last week caused spectacular Northern Lights displays (also known as the aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere, including in the UK.
However, because the latest flare is directed away from the Sun, it is unlikely we will see a repeat of the dazzling views from the weekend.
Professor Jim Wild, professor of Space Physics at Lancaster University, told Metro: ‘[Solar] flares are unlikely to trigger displays of the northern lights. The aurora seen last weekend were caused by eruptions of solar material called coronal mass ejections impacting the Earth’s magnetic field. Flares and coronal mass ejections often happen at the same time, but yesterday’s flare didn’t launch any coronal mass ejections towards Earth.’
Meanwhile, the NOAA added that due to the flare erupting on a part of the Sun that is rotating away from the Earth, ‘any CME associated with this flare will likely NOT have any geomagnetic impacts on Earth’.
Nevertheless, it’s possible that the latest flare may still cause radio blackouts in some parts of the world, particularly in North America.
Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Warwick, Ravindra Desai, explained that while the active region of the Sun is now rotated away from the Earth, energetic particles from the flare ‘can still reach the Earth and cause radio blackouts and damage to orbiting satellites’.
Dr Desai added, ‘It important to note that active region 3664 may persist for two weeks or longer and therefore will once again be oriented towards the Earth. So in two weeks there is an elevated chance of further major geomagnetic storms and aurora over the UK’.
What is a solar flare?
Solar flares are powerful bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. These flares are often associated with solar magnetic storms known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Affelia Wibisono, an astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich, told Metro: ‘Solar flares appear as localised bright flashes of light that can last for minutes and even hours. But solar flares don’t just emit visible light – they also release radiation from the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as ultraviolet light and X-rays.
‘These emissions of electromagnetic radiation travel at the speed of light and so reach the Earth about eight minutes after they have left the Sun.’
Meanwhile, CMEs can take anywhere between 15 hours and several days to reach Earth.
When intense enough, solar flares can disrupt radio communications, electric power grids and navigation signals, and can pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number refers to its strength.
Last week’s solar flares wreaked havoc on farmers in the US by interfering with GPS systems.
Nebraska-based farmer Kevin Kenney told 404 Media: ‘All the tractors are sitting at the ends of the field right now shut down because of the solar storm.’
‘No GPS,’ he added. ‘We’re right in the middle of corn planting.’
The Sun has entered the most active period of its solar cycle, with NASA explaining in a post on X: ‘The Sun’s activity waxes and wanes over a 11-year period known as the solar cycle. Solar cycle 25 began in December 2019 and is now approaching solar maximum – a period when eruptions like this one become more common.’
Scientists expect this cycle to reach its peak between late 2024 and early 2025.