4 flares erupted from Sun in rare event: the Earth may be hit by geomagnetic storm (video)

Four almost simultaneous flares erupted from the Sun yesterday, which is considered a very rare phenomenon. As a result of the explosions, emissions can reach the Earth, causing a geomagnetic storm, reports Space.com.

Solar flares are explosions on the Sun's surface that release intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. They occur when magnetic energy builds up in the Sun's atmosphere and is quickly released from it.

Three of the flares were caused by sunspots and the other by magnetic filaments hundreds of thousands of miles apart and connected by nearly invisible magnetic rings in the Sun's outer atmosphere known as the corona.

According to Spaceweather.com, these types of explosions are called "solar sympathetic flares." They consist of pairs of explosions that occur simultaneously in different regions of the solar disk. Yesterday's event was not one pair of explosions, but two, making it a "super cut sympathetic" flare.

Solar sympathetic flares occur when instabilities rapidly move from one region to another along their connecting magnetic loops. Usually, as a result of such explosions, a part of the emitted material reaches the Earth and can disrupt power grids, telecommunication networks, orbiting satellites. In addition, it could expose astronauts to dangerous levels of radiation.

According to Spaceweather.com, multiple ejected material from the Sun in the past 24 hours may be moving toward Earth, and if even one of them reaches Earth's magnetic field, a minor G1 geomagnetic storm could occur. The most likely dates of their impact on the earth are April 25 and April 26.

This latest flare may indicate that the Sun is nearing the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, as solar sympathetic flares are thought to occur more frequently due to increased solar activity.