Extreme
ultraviolet light streams out of an X-class solar flare as seen in this
image captured on March 29, 2014, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
This image blends two wavelengths of light: 304 and 171 Angstroms,
which help scientists observe the lower levels of the sun's atmosphere.Image Credit: NASA/SDO. View full disk image
The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1:48 p.m. EDT
March 29, 2014, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of
the event. 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 impacted 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 X.1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
Karen C. Fox
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
To see how this event impacted 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 X.1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
Karen C. Fox
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
