A magnificent solar flare was sighted by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in the early hours of Thursday morning (June 25). Constantly monitoring the sun’s activities, the observatory captured the striking image shown below.
Solar flares are powerful surges of radiation on the sun caused by the release of magnetic energy, which can last for minutes or even hours. While the radiation emitted from such flares isn't strong enough to harm us, it can agitate the atmospheric layer in which GPS and communications signals operate.
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NASA/SDO
Classed as an M7.9 flare, this event was about a tenth the size of the heavyweight flares: the X-class.
[H/T: NASA]
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