Let’s take a close-up!Sun releases the strongest solar X-ray flare in years | Video

NASA shared the same video, showing a close-up view of the solar flare. | Image:NASA

New Delhi: The sun on Tuesday released the most powerful flare in the solar system today, a storm of energetic particles. According to NASA, the solar flare is of the X8.7 class and is much more powerful than previous ones.

“The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on May 14, 2024, reaching its peak at 12:51 PM ET. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the phenomenon, which was classified as X8.7. ” NASA said in X.

NASA shared the same video, showing a close-up view of the solar flare.

“This one deserves a close-up! A multi-wavelength view of today’s X8.7 class solar flare, the most powerful of this solar cycle,” the caption reads.

Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center said the flare reached its peak just before 1 p.m. ET. The center said the solar flare was an R3 or “strong” flare, meaning it could have caused a widespread blackout of high-frequency radio communications on the sunlit side of the Earth for nearly an hour. There is.

Prior to this, two other solar flares rated X1.7 and X1.2 also erupted, but had no major impact on Earth.

Digital Products What is an X-class solar flare?

Solar flares occur when the strong magnetic fields inside and outside the Sun recombine. Flares are further classified according to their intensity. The smallest one falls into the B class, then C, M, and X are the largest ones.

The X-class is a “giant explosion of the sun that sends energy, light, and high-velocity particles into space.”

Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. This means that X is 10 times M and 100 times C. Within each character class there is a finer scale from 1 to 9. C-class flares are too weak to have a noticeable impact on Earth.

NASA further stated that the main dangers that people on the ground may face are indirect, due to impacts on technology. Strong solar storms can cause power outages, disrupt GPS and other satellite signals, and interfere with long-range wireless communications.

“Even if you were already on a polar flight when the flare occurred, your radiation exposure would be similar to that you might receive during an X-ray in a doctor’s office,” it added.