Month: September 2024

Sun Releases Strong Flare

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 11:29 a.m. ET on Sept. 14, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.

A combination of multiple ultraviolet wavelengths shows the Sun with bright loops of material extending off of the surface. A bright flash erupts on the Sun's lower left, and a burst of material is thrown off of the Sun into space.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash near the center of the image – on Sept. 14, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in gold and red. Credit: NASA/SDO

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X4.5 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Strong Solar Flare Erupts from Sun

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 5:43 a.m. ET on Sept. 12, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.

The Sun, shown in hues of gold, pink, and blue. There are many active regions on the Sun. They appear bright, as light from those areas cascades into space around the star. On the far left of the Sun, a bright flash of light in pinks and blues is apparently against the dark background of space.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash on the left — on Sept. 12, 2024. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in gold. Credit: NASA/SDO

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X1.3 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.