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Home → Planet Earth → Bam! You’ve been hit by a solar flare
Solar flare from 24-02-2014

The birth of the X-class solar flare from 24-02-2014 shown in different wavelengths of light. Image: SDO/NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio

Bam! You’ve been hit by a solar flare

A solar flare is a sudden burst of light on the sun’s surface, usually accompanied by a giant release of radiation into space. At 7:49 p.m. EST on Feb. 24, 2014, what scientists call a significant solar flare peaked.

How significant is significant? The classification scale runs A, B, C, M and X, with X being the most intense. The scale is further divided into X1, X2, etc. The numbers give information about the strength of the flare: an X2 flare is twice as intense as an X1; an X3 is three times as intense. This flare is an X4.9-class flare.

Solar flare composite image showing the sun in ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 131 and 171 Angstroms

Composite image of the solar flare showing the sun in ultraviolet light. Image: NASA/SDO

The radiation released by flare can’t pass through Earth’s atmosphere to reach the surface (and human life), but it can penetrate the atmosphere far enough to disturb GPS and communications signals.

Solar flare composite image, ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 131 and 171 Angstroms

Image: NASA/SDO

Here’s a coronagraph view of the coronal mass ejection that accompanied the flare:

Coronagraph view of the O-type CME associated with the X4.9 flare

Image: NASA&ESA/SOHO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the event and produced the images seen here. Read more at: NASAs SDO Shows Images of Significant Solar Flare.

Filed Under: Planet Earth Tagged With: NASA, Solar flare

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