Solar flares are powerful blasts of radiation unleashed by the sun. X-class flares are the largest and most powerful, with M-class flares considered medium-size and C-class flares being the smallest and most minor types of sun storms. When aimed directly at Earth, solar eruptions can trigger geomagnetic storms and knock out power grids and communications. Here are some spectacular photos of solar flares.
In this photo, a mid-level flare, an M6.5, erupts on the left side of the sun. This image was taken on July 8, 2014, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Three X-class flares erupted from the sun from June 10-11, 2014. These images are from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
An M6.5 flare erupted from the sun on April 2, 2014, peaking at 10:05 a.m. EDT.
A mid-level flare burst from the sun on April 18, 2014, visible as a bright spot in the center of this image.
Extreme ultraviolet light streams out of an X-class solar flare as seen in this image, captured on March 29, 2014, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
A solar flare erupts on the far right side of the sun in this image, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2014.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captures images of the sun in many wavelengths of light at the same time, each of which is typically colorized in a different color. Each wavelength shows different aspects of the same event, as seen in these three separate images of a solar flare on March 12, 2014.
These SDO images, from Feb. 24, 2014, show the first moments of an X-class flare in different wavelengths of light (seen as the bright spot that appears on the left limb of the sun). Hot solar material can be seen hovering above the active region in the sun's atmosphere, the corona.
These different wavelengths taken simultaneously by the Solar Dynamic Observatory, view the sun with focus on different regions of the sun's corona.This is why the images do not appear exactly the same, with some showing more detail than others.
An M6.6 flare, erupted on Jan. 30, 2014 and was captured here by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
A coronal mass ejection, or CME, is seen on Jan. 14, 2014, erupting away from the sun in this image from the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. In this photo, the sun is obscured to make the dimmer solar atmosphere more visible. The bright image in the top right is Venus.
This photo combines two images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, captured on Jan. 7, 2014. Together, the images show the location of a giant sunspot group on the sun, and the position of an X-class flare that erupted at 1:32 p.m. EST.
The X-class flare on April 24, 2014, was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, or CME, that was captured in this crisp image by the joint European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
Two powerful solar storms arriving at Earth today have captured the public's attention for their potential to spark amazing auroras, but scientists say there's another reason to watch. The solar double whammy is actually somewhat rare.
The particles from the two flares could interact as they head toward Earth, and researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center said they are monitoring the situation.
The sun unleashed a medium-sized flare on Monday (Sept.
followed by a second, larger flare, called an Earth-directed X-class flare, on Wednesday (Sept. 10). Both are from the same active sunspot region (Active Region 2158) and are directed at Earth, said Thomas Berger, director of the Space Weather Prediction Center, during a news conference yesterday (Sept. 11).
Solar flares are powerful eruptions of radiation. Large flares can produce coronal mass ejections (CMEs), waves of solar plasma and charged particles that can travel millions of miles an hour through space. Last night, as expected, the first of the CMEs made its appearance and is expected to cause geomagnetic storming, reaching moderate levels, this morning, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
The magnitude of the new CMEs, however, isn't that unusual, Berger said. Typically, the sun launches between 100 and 200 CMEs of this size during a solar cycle, a time encompassing about 11 Earth years, he said.
"The unique thing about this event is that we've had two in close succession, and the CMEs could possibly be interacting on their way to Earth, at the Earth's orbit or beyond perhaps — we don't know that yet," Berger said.
In past solar cycles, it was not unusual to have two solar eruptions aimed at Earth at the same time. William Murtagh, a program coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center, told Live Science in an email.
"But we have seen very few such occurrences during this cycle," Murtagh said. "It is generally recognized that a worst-case scenario geomagnetic storm would involve two or more CMEs in succession, prolonging a geomagnetic [storm] over several days."
What's more, the second CME is moving at a faster speed and catching up to the first one.
"Currently our models show that it is not going to catch up to and interact with that CME, the first CME, when it's at the Earth's orbit," Berger said. But, he added, "the models are not exact and the inputs are not exact. So we're keeping a close watch on whether this storm is stronger than might be expected because of this possibility of interaction."
The two CMEs may lead to geomagnetic storms hitting Earth and could cause problems with radio and GPS signals, Berger said.
"It's fairly rare for two CMEs of this magnitude to come in close succession like this," he said. "Because of this we cannot rule out higher storm levels," particularly in polar regions where interactions with the Earth's magnetic field are strongest.
The International Space Station will measure the CMEs as they pass by, giving scientists on Earth a 30- to 45-minute head start to prepare for the CMEs. But, on the upside, the solar event is expected to produce an array of beautiful northern lights, visible to people living in the northern United States, said William Murtagh, a program coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center.
Whatever the CMEs' effects, the Space Weather Prediction Center said it would be following them closely.
"We're keeping a close eye on these events," Berger said.
The geomagnetic storming from these events is expected to continue through Sunday (Sept. 14), according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
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