After several weeks of activity declined, the sun erupted with three powerful flares a day. It could turn solar flares towards the Earth, affecting electronics, allowing you to see the aurora.
According to Space.com and Earthky, these solar radiation explosions, known as coronal mass emissions or CME, came from the AR4168 Sunspot area on August 3rd and 4th. On August 5th, he fired his most powerful explosion, the M4.4 class flare. Space.com reports that the explosion will provide the opportunity to see the aurora in Maine and Michigan on August 8th.
How Earth’s atmosphere protects it from solar flares
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Although the important “space weather” effect has not been tested so far, it is possible that one flare sent a small burst towards the Earth. Space Physics students and Aurora Chaser Vincent Ledvina posted that there is a 12% chance of being shocked and could arrive around midnight adjusted universal time on August 7th.
The Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic fields protect us from most of the solar radiation, so solar flares are unlikely to directly harm people and animals on the surface. However, bursts can cause problems for technology and infrastructure.
The effect of solar flare on the Earth
Another area of some active sunspots, AR3038 can also emit more of the Multi Solar flare, the second most powerful of the five categories. According to NASA, the strongest solar flare is an X-class explosion. The M-class flares are ten times more than the X-class flares, but they are followed by C-class, B-class, and A-class flares, which are too weak to have a major impact on the Earth.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration divides solar flares into these five categories. The intensity of the x-rays they emit determines their identification. According to Space.com, letters in each class show a 10-fold increase in energy production, similar to the Richter scale used to measure earthquake intensity. The flare can last for a few minutes to several hours and can be seen as bright spots of the sun from the telescope.
- A: Minimum flare
- B: 10 times stronger than a
- C: 10 times stronger than b
- M: 10 times stronger than c
- X: 10 times stronger than m
George Petras’ contribution
