The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 9:03 a.m. EDT on
April 18, 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.
A
mid-level flare burst from the sun on April 18, 2014, as seen as a
bright spot in the center of this image. The image was captured by
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in 304 angstrom.Image Credit: NASA/SDO. View a full disk image in 131 angstrom
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 M7-class flare. M-class flares are one step below the most intense flares, which are designated as X-class.
Updates will be provided as needed.
Related Links
