A
mid-level solar flare erupted on the sun late on Feb. 3, 2014, peaking
at midnight EST. This image, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics
Observatory, shows the bright flare near the center of the sun. Image Credit: NASA/SDO
This image of an M5.2-class solar flare that occurred late on Feb. 3, 2014,
was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The solar flare can
be seen as the bright flash near the center of the sun. The image shows
light in the 304 Angstrom wavelength, which is typically colorized in
red. Image Credit: NASA/SDO
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a
flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans
on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the
atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.
This flare is classified as an M5.2 flare. Updates will be provided as needed.
