This Easter weekend, a large solar flare triggered radio blackouts on Earth, which could portend a period of increased probability of solar storms in the coming days.
The peak of this weekend event was recorded at 12:34 a.m. Sunday (17th), followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME), according to the SWPC (United States Space Weather Prediction Center). This phenomenon causes large, hightemperature eruptions of ionized gas that can cause geomagnetic storms and damage communications and power plants.
According to SWPC, the explosion is class X1, which is the most powerful of all. The outburst arose from a cluster of sunspots in regions 2994 and 2993, with “significant outbursts” appearing at one end of the Sun since then.
The American agency also reported that the event lasted 34 minutes and solar activity will continue in the coming days.
Spectacular Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) recorded by the SOHO/LASCO external coronagraph today. The CME has been associated with an X1.1 flare in the active region 12994 on the Sun’s eastern rim. The white circle in the center shows the position and size of the sun. pic.twitter.com/E6HQuWAqnc
SOHO_Mission (@MissionSoho) April 17, 2022
Because there was a radio outage, however brief, the solar flare was classified as Type II.
Spaceweather astronomer Tony Phillips says the outburst’s CME is unlikely to be aimed at Earth since it occurred at one end of the Sun.
What are solar storms?
Solar storms form when a large bubble of superheated gas known as plasma is ejected from the Sun’s surface and impacts Earth. The bubble is called a coronal mass ejection.