NASA captures Sun's strongest solar flare in 6 years

In a blog post on Thursday, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory observed an X2.8 solar flare — making it the most powerful flare emitted from the Sun since 2017.

Tweet may have been deleted

Accompanying this monstrous burst of energy was a coronal mass ejection (CME), according to SpaceWeather.com, which is a massive burst of solar plasma. This particular CME is believed to have an "Earth-directed component," moving at an estimated speed exceeding 2,100 km/s (4.7 million mph).

SEE ALSO: The sun is teeming with intense activity, NASA footage shows

While the Earth's atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation, CMEs can cause geomagnetic storms that can disrupt GPS and communication satellites. "[X2.8] caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas," SpaceWeather.com wrote.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

A flare of this size is not unexpected. The Sun is currently going through its version of a "hurricane season," a cycle of weather that, for our planet's star, lasts 11 years. The current cycle, Solar Cycle 25, is expected to reach its peak between January and October of next year, as predicted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Solar flares are measured based on their strength, with B-Class being the smallest and X being the strongest. X-class flares do have the potential to cause disruptions to our telecommunications array, but it's rare, and scientists have been observing the Sun for hundreds of years.

---

Related Stories

---

• NASA video shows spectacular recreation of pivotal Mars event
• On thrilling ocean world, NASA spots a vital element for life
• How NASA's asteroid sample survived despite a parachute flop
• NASA aims to land on the moon in 2 years. Why that won't happen.
• You've got to see the best space images of 2023

While there have been X-class flares that have been spotted in the last year or so (there have been 21 since 2019), a flare of this size hasn't been seen since September 2017's X8.2. One of the largest in recent memory was an X45 flare in 2003.