The sun spewed out a gigantic flare on Thursday that was accompanied by a massive radio burst that caused radio interference for two hours in parts of the United States and other sunny parts of the world.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it was the largest solar flare since 2017. The resulting radio burst was broad across the spectrum, even affecting the highest frequencies, NOAA says.
The combination resulted in one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded, Shawn Dahl of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said Friday.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, several aircraft pilots reported communications disruptions with consequences across the country.
Scientists are currently monitoring this sunspot region and analyzing a possible plasma explosion from the Sun, also known as a “coronal mass ejection,” that could be directed toward Earth. Such an explosion could lead to a magnetic storm, Dahl said, which in turn could disrupt high-frequency radio signals at higher latitudes in the coming days and trigger the northern lights.
The solar flare occurred in the far northwest of the sun. The Solar Dynamics Observatory, launched into orbit by NASA in 2010, captured the phenomenon under extreme ultraviolet light and recorded the powerful burst of energy as a giant flash of light.
The spacecraft, which is in a very high orbit around the Earth, constantly observes the Sun.
Our star is nearing the peak of its approximately 11-year solar cycle. The peak of sunspot activity is predicted for 2025.