Powerful solar flare detected - Solar flares appear to be caused by a sudden release of magnetic energy and emit light, ultraviolet waves and X-rays

Powerful solar flare detected

The most powerful solar flare in years has erupted.

This scenario sent a blast of X-rays from a hotspot of activity that may still belch solar storms in the days to come.

The sun unleashed the flare at about 1.44am (Greenwich Mean Time) on Tuesday.

Since then the spot has grown to more than 100,000km across - nearly eight times the width of the Earth.

Solar flares appear to be caused by a sudden release of magnetic energy and emit light, ultraviolet waves and X-rays.

There is often a disruption of radio communications shortly after major flares.

When those electrified particles reach the Earth, they can create a geomagnetic storm that could influence the planet in several ways, including disrupting satellite communications and power grids.

Ideally, the associated stream of particles would reach the Earth 37 hours after the eruption, said Bao Xingming of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"We expect some impact from the eruption, such as communication disruptions, in the coming 24 hours," he said.

"But there is no need to panic," the solar physic explained that the eruption was very strong but not that big.

Bao said the eruption showed that the sun has entered an active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle after a lull in activity.

"More such eruptions, even more intense - either from the same solar hotspot or from others - are expected in the coming year or two," Bao said.
Source: China Daily