Huge solar flare erupts on the sun from ‘hyperactive’ sunspot

January 9, 2023

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A large explosion on the sun unleashed a strong solar flare from a brand new sunspot on Monday (Jan. 9), one that’s slowly turning to face the Earth.

The solar flare erupted at 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT) as a X1.9-class sun storm that triggered a brief, however robust, radio blackout throughout elements of South America, Central America and the Pacific Ocean, based on a statement (opens in new tab) from the U.S. Area Climate Prediction Middle on the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. X-class flares are the strongest varieties of storms from the sun. Monday’s flare got here from the identical sunspot that fired off an X1.2-class solar flare on Jan. 5, NOAA reported.

“The supply is hyperactive sunspot AR3184,” astronomer Tony Phillips of the space weather web site SpaceWeather.com wrote in an update (opens in new tab). “Not one of the particles plumes will hit Earth; the sunspot isn’t dealing with our planet. It’ll flip in our path later this week.”

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A strong X1.9-class solar flare erupts from the sun on this full picture from NASA’s Photo voltaic Dynamics Observatory captured on Jan. 9, 2022. (Picture credit score: NASA/SDO)

NASA captured stunning images and video of the solar flare (opens in new tab) with its Photo voltaic Dynamics Observatory, a space-based telescope that regularly watches the sun in numerous wavelengths.

Photo voltaic flares are intense eruptions from the floor of the sun that explode at quite a lot of energy ranges. The weakest flares, categorized as A-, B- or C-type storms, are usually minor. The stronger M-class flares can fling charged particles at Earth that supercharge our planet’s auroras, amplifying shows of northern lights and southern lights.

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This graphic from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center shows X1.9 solar flare of Jan. 9, 2023, its sunspot AR3184 origin and the site of a radio blackout on Earth's Southern Hemisphere.

This graphic from the NOAA Area Climate Prediction Middle reveals X1.9 solar flare of Jan. 9, 2023, its sunspot AR3184 origin and the positioning of a radio blackout on Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. (Picture credit score: NOAA/SWPC)

When aimed immediately at Earth, X-class solar flares “can influence radio communications, electrical energy grids, navigation alerts, and pose dangers to spacecraft and astronauts,” NASA stated in a statement (opens in new tab).

The sun is presently in an lively phase of its 11-year climate solar cycle. The present phase is named Solar Cycle 25, which is anticipated to peak in 2025.

NASA tracks solar flares and different space climate occasions by watching the sun with quite a lot of spacecraft. Along with the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory or SOHO (a joint mission by NASA and the European Area Company) additionally often watches for space climate occasions.

E mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or comply with him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Observe us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).