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On December 8, 2024, the Sun erupted with an X-class impulse flare, the most powerful of all solar flares. This event caused a short-lived radio blackout over South Africa, just as the region was illuminated by the Sun, Space reports.
The flare originated in sunspot region 3912 and peaked at 09:06 GMT. It was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME), a stream of plasma and magnetic field that can cause geomagnetic storms and spectacular auroras when it collides with Earth's magnetosphere.
According to space weather physics professor Tamita Skov, Earth will only get a tangential hit from this CME, and only weak impacts are expected. She noted that the effect will become noticeable by mid-afternoon on December 11.
Such flares release powerful portions of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation, which quickly reach the Earth, causing ionization of the upper atmosphere. This makes it difficult for short-wave radio signals used for long-distance communication to pass through and can completely absorb these signals.
Class X flares are the most intense of the solar phenomena, and each new increase in class means a tenfold increase in power. They can cause serious disturbances in the operation of satellites and radio communication, which once again emphasizes the influence of space weather on our planet.
On December 8, 2024, the Sun erupted with an X-class impulse flare, the most powerful of all solar flares. This event caused a short-lived radio blackout over South Africa, just as the region was illuminated by the Sun, Space reports.
The flare originated in sunspot region 3912 and peaked at 09:06 GMT. It was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME), a stream of plasma and magnetic field that can cause geomagnetic storms and spectacular auroras when it collides with Earth's magnetosphere.
According to space weather physics professor Tamita Skov, Earth will only get a tangential hit from this CME, and only weak impacts are expected. She noted that the effect will become noticeable by mid-afternoon on December 11.
Such flares release powerful portions of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation, which quickly reach the Earth, causing ionization of the upper atmosphere. This makes it difficult for short-wave radio signals used for long-distance communication to pass through and can completely absorb these signals.
Class X flares are the most intense of the solar phenomena, and each new increase in class means a tenfold increase in power. They can cause serious disturbances in the operation of satellites and radio communication, which once again emphasizes the influence of space weather on our planet.
