It is the largest flare in this solar cycle that began in 2008 . The X4.9 class solar flare was registered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) this Tuesday, February 25 at 02:49 Spanish time.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, appearing as giant flashes of light in images captured by the SDO. Although harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere, when it is strong enough it can disrupt GPS signals and communications through geomagnetic storms. However, although the blast has been enormous, the location of the explosion (near the southeastern limb of Sol), means that the Earth is not in any danger in this regard.
Radio emissions from shock waves at the leading edge of the coronal mass ejection (CME) indicate an expansion velocity of about 2,000 kilometers per second . The source of the eruption is the sunspot AR1967, whose width is greater than the planet Jupiter and which has just started its third journey across the face of the Sun.
Image Credit: SDO / NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio
