by He’s gone and done it again.
Giant sunspot AR3664 has unleashed its most powerful solar flare yet, and Earth is once again in the firing line.
The X3.98 flare peaked early this morning (May 10) at 2:54 am (0654 GMT) causing a temporary or total loss of high frequency (HF) radio signals across Asia, eastern Europe and east africa.
Related: 4 big incoming solar flares could raise the auroras this weekend
This morning’s X3.98 flare is not only AR3664’s largest solar flare to date, but also the 4th largest solar flare for this solar cycle according to solar physicist Keith Strong‘ post on X.
Solar flares are eruptions from sunspots on the surface of our sun that emit intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. They are categorized by size into lettered groups, with X-class flares being the most powerful. Then, there are M-class flares which are 10 times less powerful than X-class flares, followed by C-class flares which are 10 times weaker than M-class flares. B-class is 10 times weaker than M-class flares class C and, finally, class A flares are 10 times weaker than class B flares and are without any significant consequences on Earth. Within each class, numbers from 1-10 (and beyond for class X flares) indicate the relative strength of flares.
Radio slots
Shortwave radio blackouts such as those seen this morning in Asia, eastern Europe and eastern Africa are common occurrences shortly after powerful solar eruptions caused by strong pulses of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted during the event.
The radiation travels towards the Earth at the speed of light and ionizes (gives it an electric charge) a top The Earth’s Atmosphere, creating a high-density environment through which radio signals can pass. (Note: These ionizing X-rays should not be confused coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, through which plasma and magnetic fields explode the sun. (CMEs travel at slower speeds and often take several days to reach Earth.)
When trying to travel through that ionized layer, radio waves can’t help but interact with electrons whose environment is now submerged. In doing so, the radio waves lose energy due to more frequent collisions with the electrons. This could result in radio signals being degraded or completely absorbed, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
Solar storms coming in
Related stories:
– 2 huge solar flares erupt from the sun and Earth is in the firing line (video)
— NASA prepares for intense solar storms on Mars during solar maximum
— There is a wild weather of sun falling satellites. It’s getting worse.
This recent X-flare eruption was also accompanied by a CME, which is a large ejection of plasma and magnetic field from the sun.
“CME FROM X-FLARE SAID TO DO: Look at the bright region in the SW (AR3664). You’ll see the X flare go off there and almost immediately a CME is launched,” solar physicist Keith Strong posted on X.
“A CME is now visible and appears to be mostly heading west, but an Earth-led component is likely to remain,” according to the space-weather and aurora website Posted by SolarHam on X.
This is not surprising. AR3664, along with its explosive “cousin” AR366 – which has slipped around the solar disk and beyond Earth’s view – were at the forefront of solar weather news last week.
Just yesterday (May 9), NOAA’s SWPC issued a G4 level geomagnetic storm watch for this weekend. The increased geomagnetic activity is predicted to be the result of a number of CMEs currently seen heading towards Earth in succession. some large solar eruptions a few days before.
Read more: 4 big incoming solar flares could raise the auroras this weekend
Increased solar activity
The extremely active sun last week is a good indicator that we are approaching solar maximum, the peak period of solar activity during the sun’s 11-year solar cycle.
Solar scientists are keeping a close eye on the sun as it approaches solar maximum because such increased activity can affect our life on Earth.
Energetic solar flares can seriously disrupt spacecraft, satellites and ground-based technologies, travel at the speed of light, and give little notice before they strike. That’s why many organizations – including NASA, the NOAA and the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) – are closely monitoring the sun. These organizations can send warnings to technology and infrastructure sectors that are at risk of solar flare activity so that appropriate precautions can be taken in the event of potentially harmful space weather.
“We cannot ignore space weatherbut we can take appropriate measures to protect ourselves,” says NASA.
But no need to worry; there are no so-called “killer flares”. Although solar flares can be very disruptive to the technological world, they do not contain enough energy to cause any lasting damage to the Earth itself.
“Even at their worst, solar flares are not physically capable of destroying Earth,” says NASA.
