In the past strong flares and CMEs have produced widespread power outages and communications blackouts. All this means it’s worth heeding Phillips’ warning that stronger flares are likely on the way in the coming months. While this is the first major flare of the young solar cycle, it measured just a X1.59, when the last solar cycle gave us a far more powerful X9 flare in 2017. The sun undergoes an approximately 11-year-long activity cycle in which it swells to a peak at the middle of the cycle and then begins to quiet down until the end of the cycle when it all repeats. This was the first X flare tossed off by the sun since a new solar cycle began in December 2019. Solar flares are classified by their X-ray brightness as A, B, C, M or X with A being the smallest and X being the brightest and largest. MORE FROM FORBES Sunspots, Solar Flares, Auroras: Space Weather Getting Spicy By Eric Mackįortunately, the sunspot that produced this flare was on the edge of the sun’s face, making it unlikely that a CME would be directed towards Earth.
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