2 M-class Solar Flares to Hit Earth, Cause Radio Blackouts, Physicist Warns

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/NSO/AURA)
2 M-Class Solar Flares To Hit Earth, Cause Radio Blackouts, Physicist Warns

Two solar flares are expected to hit Earth this week. The public will feel its effect before the weekend.

2 Solar Flares To Hit Earth

This week, the sun delivered two strong streams of charged particles with a 75% chance of hitting Earth and producing radio blackouts. Both are categorized as M-class solar flares.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were released by the two active sunspots, 3559 and 3561, barely one day apart, with the first occurring on Sunday.

Billions of tons of corona material can be expelled from the sun's surface by CMEs. Magnetic fields and plasma make up the substance.

The S-scale, a five-level system developed by NOAA, is used to identify the intensity of solar radiation storms.

Additionally, the organization predicts a 15% risk of these storms between today and Thursday. Information indicated that radio communications over the northeast coast of Australia, Fiji, and the South Pacific Ocean had already been interfered with by the flare from 3559.

Solar storms are predicted on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some effects felt on Thursday, according to a physicist who spoke with DailyMail.com. The storms come after one on Monday that interfered with communications across the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Tamitha Skov said the flare unleashed on Sunday was "the largest we have seen in weeks." It was responsible for brief radio blackouts throughout the Asian Pacific and Australia.

"NOAA is giving us a 75 percent chance for M-class flares [radio blackout causing flares] over the next three days while [two sunspots] are still in Earth view," Skov said.

"Along with the warnings for HF [high frequency] radio, GPS users are advised to stay vigilant, especially in the hours near dawn and dusk because GPS/GNSS [Other Global Navigation Satellite Systems] signal reception can be easily degraded at those times when flares are active."

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What Are Solar Flares?

Solar flare is a massive solar explosion caused by the abrupt release of energy trapped in "twisted" magnetic fields, typically found above sunspots.

They may heat the material to millions of degrees in a couple of minutes, resulting in a burst of radiation spanning the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays.

Solar flares are categorized by scientists based on how brilliant they are in X-ray wavelengths as follows:

X-class flares. They are massive and key occurrences that have the potential to start global radio blackouts and protracted radiation storms in the high atmosphere.

M-class flares. They are medium-sized and usually cause brief radio blackouts in Earth's polar regions. A small radiation storm will sometimes accompany an M-class flare.

C-class flares. Since they are small, their impact on Earth is minimal.

Different flares, particularly X-class, affect Earth, satellites, and onboard personnel. C-flares are extremely weak and have minimal effect on the planet.

Strong M- and X-class flares can discharge a considerable amount of solar plasma and magnetic field and create coronal mass ejections. This activity could lead to geomagnetic storms, disrupting Earth's magnetosphere. Auroras can be observed closer to the equator during these geomagnetic storms than during calm weather.