This Easter weekend, the Sun produced a large solar flare, which caused radio blackouts on Earth and signaled what could be a highly favorable phase for solar storms in the following days, as a complex of regions on the Sun's surface, many of which are active, will be facing our planet.
According to the United States Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), part of the National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA), the Easter solar eruption peaked at 11:34 p.m. EDT on Sunday. It was followed minutes later by a gigantic solar flare known as coronal mass ejection.
An X1.1 solar flare was observed this morning at 03:34 UTC from sunspot region 2994 at the north-east-limb. This is the third strongest solar flare of the current cycle.
— SpaceWeatherLive (@_SpaceWeather_) April 17, 2022
A partial halo coronal mass ejection was released into space but it is not expected to arrive at Earth. pic.twitter.com/U5r6RO7Vp1
According to the SWPC (via Space.com), the flare emanated from Regions 2994 and 2993, a cluster of active sunspots that has witnessed "substantial flaring" since it first emerged on the Sun's eastern limb.
Easter Solar Flare Warning
According to SWPC authorities, the explosion was classified as an X1.1 class solar storm (class X storms are the most violent on the Sun) and lasted roughly 34 minutes.
SWPC said that the eruption came from areas 2994 and 2993, a cluster of active sunspots that have experienced "major explosions" since it first emerged near the Sun's edge.
"Solar activity is expected to be active over the next week as these sunspots migrate across the visible disk," the agency wrote in an update.
In a screen grab taken from a handout timelapse sequence provided by NASA / SDO, a solar spot in the center of the Sun is captured from which the first X-class flare was emitted in four years on February 14, 2011.
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The danger of geoeffective solar storms, or storms capable of causing consequences on our planet, grows as the spots approach an Earth-facing position.
This Easter's solar eruption, according to NOAA's center of space-time, caused a temporary radio blackout and was classed as a Type II solar radio explosion.
"Such bursts are produced by shock waves in the leading edges of CMEs," astronomer Tony Phillips of Spaceweather.com wrote in an update.
Because the explosion happened at the Sun's furthest point, the coronal mass ejection that resulted is unlikely to be aimed toward Earth, according to Phillips.
Solar flares of class X, as seen on Sunday, are the most powerful sorts of storms in the Sun. Class A solar flares are the weakest; class B and C storms are likewise mild.
About Solar Flares, Eruptions
As part of its solar cycle, which lasts 11 years and is marked by eruptions and bursts of radiation, the Sun is now experiencing an upsurge in solar activity. During this cycle, the number of sunspots is growing and is expected to peak in 2025.
While this solar storm is little, the consequences of a greater one on the planet might be disastrous.
One research obtained by The Independent even claimed that a major solar storm, which occurs once every 100 years on average, might usher in an "internet apocalypse."
The Earth's magnetic field generally keeps solar wind - charged particles from the Sun - from interfering with the planet. However, the increasing winds surge once per century as part of the star's life cycle, potentially causing a multi-month internet outage.
These solar storms can cause electricity to enter and destroy lengthy conductors, such as power lines.
Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi from the University of California, Irvine and VMware Research said in a tweet, "In today's long-haul Internet cables, the optical fiber is immune to GIC. But these cables also have electrically powered repeaters at ~100 km intervals that are susceptible to damages."
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