The largest solar flare in years will temporarily disrupt radio signals on Earth

 The largest solar flare in years will temporarily disrupt radio signals on Earth

The sun spat out a huge eruption on Thursday along with a massive radio burst

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December 16, 2023

AP

solar flare

This photo provided by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of the solar flare, as seen in the bright flash at upper right, on Thursday, December 14, 2023.

Image credit:NASA via AP

Cape Canaveral, Florida: NASA's telescope captured the largest solar flare in years, temporarily disrupting radio communications on Earth.

The sun spat out a huge eruption along with a massive radio burst on Thursday, causing two hours of radio interference in parts of the US and other sun-drenched parts of the world. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was the largest eruption since 2017, and the radio burst was large and affected higher frequencies.

The combination resulted in one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded, Shawn Dahl of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said Friday.

Several pilots reported communications disruptions with impacts across the country, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. Scientists are now watching this sunspot region and analyzing a possible burst of plasma from the Sun, also known as a coronal mass ejection, that could be directed at Earth. That could result in a geomagnetic storm, Dahl said, which in turn could disrupt high-frequency radio signals at higher latitudes and trigger auroras, or auroras, in the coming days.

The eruption occurred in the far northwestern part of the Sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the event in extreme ultraviolet light and recorded the powerful surge of energy as a huge, bright flash. The probe was launched in 2010 and is in an extremely high orbit around the Earth, where it constantly watches the Sun.

The Sun sent out a powerful solar flare on December 14, 2023, peaking at 12:02 PM ET. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the event, which was classified as X2.8. https://t.co/4INrRFqIg7 pic.twitter.com/2dJ1YMkiXS

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) December 14, 2023

The Sun is nearing the peak of its 11-year solar cycle. Maximum sunspot activity is expected in 2025.