flares

Russian scientists have issued a warning that powerful solar flares observed on July 16, 2023, may cause disruptions to communications on Earth today. According to a report by news agency Reuters, the Fedorov Institute of Applied Geophysics in Moscow has highlighted the potential for X-class solar flares, including proton flares, which could interfere with short-wave communications.Solar flares occur when the magnetic field lines near sunspots, cooler regions on the Sun's surface, overlap and release a sudden burst of…

In the early hours of July 12, a single M-class solar flare was produced by an emerging sunspot on the northeastern limb of the Sun, and it sparked blackouts over the North American continent, as per reports. But since then, as many as 8 different M-class solar flares have been produced by the same region, sunspot AR3372, the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory has detected. The flares have sparked a rolling series of blackouts all across the Earth. The sunspot appears to be highly reactive and crackling with activity. This…

Solar flares have been frequent in these past few months and as we move towards the solar maximum, the chances of solar storms striking Earth increase. Solar flares, CMEs, and geomagnetic storms can disrupt the power grid, shut down radio communications and even destroy satellites! A solar storm that is strong enough can even destroy the Internet. According to NASA, solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth. Because flares are made of photons, they travel out directly from the…

The American space agency, NASA captured an image of a strong solar flare peaking at 7:14 pm on Sunday. The pictures were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This solar flare has been classified as an X1.0 flare. The 'X' denotes the most intense flares and the number provides more information about its strength. The sun is approaching the Solar maximum, a period of its most intense solar activity in an 11-year cycle.  The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on July 2, 2023, peaking at 7:14pm…

Our Sun has a thin layer of second atmosphere that lies just above the photosphere as well as a huge corona. This is the region where we see most of the solar phenomena such as solar flares, prominences, and coronal mass ejections reactions, most of which can directly impact Earth. While Sun's energy is crucial for life to exist on Earth, its related solar phenomena can cause severe damage, especially to tech instruments. Just a few months ago, the worst solar storm in 6 years hit Earth when a menacing cloud of coronal…

After an unremarkable weekend, solar activity is again picking up speed. Last week, we witnessed two separate radio blackout events triggered by an X-class solar flare and an M-class solar flare. While the CME escaped the Earth and no solar storms were to be seen, this week the fear is far greater. A sunspot in Earth's view named AR3340 has gone unstable and is now harboring a delta-class magnetic field, which is a big catalyst for solar flare eruptions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has…

The last ten days have been quite peaceful for the Earth. Solar activity has been at a minimum despite two active sunspots staring down at our planet. One of them, AR3315, is as large as 5 times the size of the Earth and was feared to explode producing an X-class solar flare. However, it did not and now the latest predictions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have revealed that much of the unstable magnetic field has decayed, and chances of an X-class flare no longer exist. However, there is…

Just 5 months into 2023, we have already witnessed damaging solar activity bombard the Earth. Just last month, a menacing cloud of coronal mass ejection, erupting from a sunspot that was 20 times wider than Earth, struck the planet and unleashed a horrifying solar storm. This was later declared the most devastating solar storm in 6 years. It was quite surprising and unexpected. Solar activity has been on the rise for the past few months, and it is expected to increase further until solar maximum, the period of greatest…

Earth is being continuously bombarded by solar storms, solar flares, and other solar phenomena since its very birth billions of years ago. The trend continues as we have seen multiple X-class solar flare eruptions, G3-class solar storms, super-charged CME clouds, and solar winds wreak havoc on our planet. Although this solar activity is dangerous and can cause significant damage to power grids, communication networks, and satellites, it might have also been the one thing that gave the gift of life to Earth. Yes, solar…

As we enter day three of the unstable giant sunspot AR3311 being in full view of the Earth, scientists are concerned. The sunspot was expected to explode already, erupting solar flares. But as time keeps passing, the fear of an X-class solar flare strengthens. This is because despite appearing relatively stable, it is filled with the highly unstable beta-gamma-delta magnetic field. Many believe that the last 48 hours have been the calm before the storm and day three is when something may finally give and spark a…