The Sun witnessed the largest solar flare in four years on July 3. The flare erupted from a sunspot named AR2838 at 2.29 pm GMT, and was classified as an X-1 class event. According to US Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC), the sunspot had developed overnight and the flare had caused a brief radio blackout back on Earth.
"New Region 2838 produced an impulsive X1 flare (R3 - Strong Radio Blackout) at 14:29 UTC on 03 July. This sunspot region developed overnight and was also responsible for an M2 flare (R1 - Minor Radio Blackout) at 07:17 UTC on 03 July," the officials had stated in their update.
What are Solar Flares?
Solar flares are incredibly powerful releases of radiation bursts on the Sun’s surface. These bursts of radiation are caused by the twisting up of magnetic fields on the Sun’s surface due to the plasma in the Sun moving at different rates, speeds and directions.
Solar flares contain as much energy as 2.5 million nuclear bombs and can reach temperatures of up to 100 million Kelvins, briefly making them one of the hottest spots on the Sun’s surface.
Solar flares are classified into three categories -- C-Class, the smallest events; M-Class, medium-sized events that can cause radio blackouts at the polar regions; and X-Class, the biggest events that can cause radio blackouts across the entire planet.
Will Episode Continue?
The solar flare erupted from the sunspot AR2838. The sunspot quickly moved over to the northwestern limb of the sun, away from the Earth and would be on the far side of the Sun for the next two weeks.
The solar flare is the first of the 25th solar cycle. Solar cycles are 11-year phases that determine the Sun’s weather. The current solar cycle started in 2020.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Jul 5, 2021 8:43 PM IST
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