The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on July 19, 2012
beginning at 1:13 AM EDT and peaking at 1:58 AM. Solar flares
are gigantic bursts of radiation that cannot pass through Earth's
atmosphere to harm humans on the ground, however, when strong
enough, they can disrupt the atmosphere and degrade GPS
and communications signals.
This image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO) on July 19, 2012 of an M7.7 class solar flare. The image
represents light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, which is
particularly good for seeing flares, and which is typically colorized
in teal. Credit: NASA/SDO
The flare is classified as an M7.7 flare. This means it is weaker
than the largest flares, which are classified as X-class. M-class
flares can cause brief radio communications blackouts at the poles.
Increased numbers of flares are currently quite common, since the
sun's standard 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar
maximum, which is expected in 2013. It is quite normal for there
to be many flares a day during the sun’s peak activity.
Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and
whether there was an associated Earth-directed coronal mass
ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar
particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites
and on Earth.
beginning at 1:13 AM EDT and peaking at 1:58 AM. Solar flares
are gigantic bursts of radiation that cannot pass through Earth's
atmosphere to harm humans on the ground, however, when strong
enough, they can disrupt the atmosphere and degrade GPS
and communications signals.
This image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
(SDO) on July 19, 2012 of an M7.7 class solar flare. The image
represents light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, which is
particularly good for seeing flares, and which is typically colorized
in teal. Credit: NASA/SDO
The flare is classified as an M7.7 flare. This means it is weaker
than the largest flares, which are classified as X-class. M-class
flares can cause brief radio communications blackouts at the poles.
Increased numbers of flares are currently quite common, since the
sun's standard 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar
maximum, which is expected in 2013. It is quite normal for there
to be many flares a day during the sun’s peak activity.
Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and
whether there was an associated Earth-directed coronal mass
ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar
particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites
and on Earth.
Sources: NASA