The sun just erupted with its most powerful solar flare in 6 YEARS – and it could spark geomagnetic storms and huge power outages on Earth, scientists warn
Earth will soon experience the largest solar flare in six years, and that could lead to widespread power outages.
A massive X-magnitude flare, the largest our Sun is capable of, erupted on the Sun yesterday afternoon.
The radiation bombardment had already caused a temporary radio outage throughout South America.
But the danger is not over yet, as the Met Office predicts that the Earth will be hit by a huge solar storm from December 17.
Fortunately, the flare wasn't directly facing Earth, so we likely only got a glancing hit.
The Sun has just exploded with its largest solar flare in six years, and the bright flash of activity can be seen at the top right of this image
At 17:00 GMT yesterday, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory detected a huge amount of activity in the Sun's northern hemisphere.
Observations revealed the moment an X2.8-class solar flare exploded from the surface of the Sun.
Solar flares are graded on a scale from A to X, with A being the least intense and X being the most powerful.
These categories are then broken down by numbers, with X2 being twice as strong as X1.
Yesterday's activity was the strongest since the massive X8.2 flare in September 2017.
Solar flares occur when the Sun's powerful magnetic fields are twisted and held together by streams of extremely hot gas.
This is particularly common in “sunspots,” the cooler areas of the Sun’s surface where magnetic fields are particularly intense.
The solar flare that briefly disrupted radio communications yesterday was fired from a Sunspot called AR 3514 that appears as dark areas at upper right.
Yesterday's glow came from a sunspot called AR 3514, which alone is larger than Earth.
When the energy stored in these twisted fields is suddenly released, vast amounts of material are very quickly heated to millions of degrees.
It is this burst of energy that can interfere with radio communications on Earth.
Dr Alexei Glover, coordinator of ESA's Space Weather Service, told MailOnline: 'Yesterday's solar flare is the largest in the solar cycle so far, and also the largest we have seen since 2017.'
“We are still analyzing the event, but early reports indicate that this affected radio communications for a short period on the 14th.”
Yesterday's flare has already caused a moderate radio outage in South America, with a partial or complete loss of signal for two hours.
The solar flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection that sent billions of tons of plasma toward Earth
At the same time, there was also a massive coronal mass ejection (CME), which sent billions of tons of plasma and magnetic energy hurtling into the solar system.
Unlike flares, CMEs are slow and result from gas bubbles bound by magnetic fields that explode over the course of hours.
When the Sun's particles collide with the Earth's magnetic field, they interact and produce electric currents.
These geomagnetic storms flow through power grids and can lead to widespread power outages.
Particles from a coronal ejection also cause changes in the low-Earth orbit environment, which could affect drag on the spacecraft, meaning satellites may need to adjust their orbit.
CMEs are not always associated with solar flares, but Dr. Glover says this flare was linked to CMEs.
Earth will hit the edge of a coronal mass ejection on December 17, causing geomagnetic storms that could disrupt power grids.
Why do solar storms cause the northern lights?
The Northern Lights are a natural light spectacle that can be seen from the Earth's extreme northern and southern latitudes.
They occur when electrically charged particles from the Sun interact with the Earth's atmosphere.
The particles collide with helium and hydrogen to create a glow.
Solar storms mean that more particles are coming to Earth, which results in more lights.
If the northern lights appear in the UK, they are usually only seen from the north of Scotland
While the flare's radiation has already hit Earth, clouds of radioactive particles from a coronal ejection will take a few days to reach us.
“Early analysis suggests that the CME left the Sun in a westerly direction from Earth's perspective, but there is a chance of a 'glancing strike' from late tomorrow (16th) onwards,” says Dr Glover.
A Met Office spokesman told MailOnline the impact was unlikely to cause any major disruption.
“Even if the coronal ejection reaches Earth, we expect minor to moderate geomagnetic storms,” the spokesperson says.
“A flare by itself would not cause a power outage. Only in the most extreme space weather would we consider this a risk.
The spokesman adds, “The effects on the ground will be minimal, except for the opportunity to see the aurora borealis at high latitudes.”
Earlier this year, Earth was hit by an extremely rare “cannibal” solar storm.
This was the result of one CME being followed almost immediately by another, which came together to form a huge wall of solar particles.
The resulting geomagnetic activity was so strong that the northern lights were visible as far south as parts of Scotland.
Although there were concerns at the time that the event might disrupt the electrical grid, no outages occurred.
The Sun will reach the peak of this next cycle in 2025, so be prepared for more solar activity in the future.
Solar storms represent a clear danger to astronauts and can damage satellites
Solar stormsor solar activity, can be divided into: Four main components Which could have impacts on the ground:
- Solar flares: A large explosion in the sun's atmosphere. These flares consist of photons that travel directly from the site of the flare. Solar flares only affect Earth when they occur on the side of the Sun facing Earth.
- Coronary mass ejections (CME's): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic fields erupt from the Sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, then continue in that direction, moved by the solar wind. These clouds cause impacts on the Earth only when they are directed towards the Earth.
- High-speed solar wind streams: These come from the Sun's coronal holes, which form anywhere on the Sun and usually only when it is closest to the solar equator that winds affect the Earth.
- Solar particles: High-energy charged particles thought to be released primarily by shocks that form at the front of coronal mass eruptions and solar flares. When a cloud of CME flows through the solar wind, solar particles can be produced, and because they are charged, they follow the magnetic field lines between the Sun and Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect with the Earth will have an effect.
While these may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger from these phenomena due to the relatively low orbit of manned missions.
However, they must worry about cumulative exposure during spacewalks.
This image shows the Sun's coronal holes in an X-ray image. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is made up of powerful magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release bubbles or tongues of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections
Damage caused by solar storms
Solar flares can damage satellites and have a huge financial cost.
Charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the Earth's magnetic field.
Very large burners can create currents within power grids and lead to interruptions in power supplies.
When coronal mass ejections hit Earth, they cause geomagnetic storms and enhanced auroras.
They can disrupt radio waves and GPS coordinates and overload electrical systems.
A large influx of power can flow into high-voltage power grids and permanently damage transformers.
This could lead to the closure of businesses and homes around the world.
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