The Sun released a huge solar plasma this week, and a coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to reach Earth. The CME reportedly came from the strongest solar flare recorded in years.
CME From The Strongest Solar Flare In Years
The massive flare, which originated from the Sun's sunspot 3514 on December 14, was the strongest solar storm the Sun has seen since September 2017. It registered as an X2.8-class flare. North and South America had a deep shortwave radio blackout due to the flare.
While the flare and the coronal mass ejection (CME) of solar material were emitted simultaneously, it took much longer for the CME to reach Earth. So, the CME is expected on Sunday. The event could result from power outages, satellite difficulties, additional radio blackouts, and maybe the visibility of auroras as far south as Illinois and Oregon.
Strong magnetic regions of the Sun, such as sunspots, are the source oh solar flares and CMEs, which are cannonballs of solar material and magnetic field, respectively. A solar flare is a muzzle flash of brilliant electromagnetic radiation.
The expected speed of the CMD to strike Earth on Sunday is 4.7 million mph. When it comes, it is expected to produce geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere that may be as powerful as those classified as G2 (Moderate) or G3 (Strong). The CME disrupts the Earth's magnetic field, which leads to geomagnetic storms.
Solar Flares and Solar Storms
G2 and G3 solar storms can potentially disrupt radio transmissions and interfere with power systems. A strong solar flare on Aug. 7 disrupted radio and navigational signals throughout North America, prompting space weather experts to issue warnings because powerful particles were striking Earth. The largest and busiest sunspot group seen on the Sun's disk was the source of the flare. It only showed up two days after a considerably weaker X-ray flare was discovered on Aug. 5.
A, B, C, M, and X classes categorize solar flares according to their power, with X-class flares being the strongest. An X1 flare is ten times more potent than an M1, and a C1 flare is one hundred times more powerful than a C1. Each class is ten times stronger than the one before it. The least frequent type of solar flare, known as an X-class flare, only happens about ten times a year.
"Solar flares are where areas of solar activity (normally seen as sun spots) suddenly realign or shift, throwing off a flare," said Alan Woodward, a professor of computer science and space weather expert at the University of Surrey, England.
"The amount of energy in an X class flare can sound scary, but the true impact for us on Earth depends very much on a number of factors. Some give comparisons of the 'Carrington Event' in 1859, which is thought to have released more power than millions of the largest nuclear bomb ever exploded on Earth. However, the chances of a flare affecting the Earth are lessened because the flares pop out in all directions, decreasing the chance of them hitting Earth."
In a statement released on Sept. 27, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center stated a 15% chance of X-flares and a 40% chance of M-flares. This is because sunspot groups face Earth and have mixed-polarity magnetic fields, which makes them ready for powerful flares at any moment. The amount of magnetic energy accumulated and released determines the strength of solar flares, which are outbursts of X-ray radiation from the Sun's surface.
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