A powerful flare took place on the Sun today, reports the Institute of Applied Geophysics of Russia.

"On October 24, at 6:57 a.m. Moscow time, a 44-minute long X3.3 flare was recorded in the X-ray band of sunspot group 3869 (S16E76)," the institute said in a statement.

The institute did not say whether the flare was accompanied by a plasma discharge or whether it would cause a magnetic storm.

Last time, an X-class flare was recorded on the Sun on October 9. As a result of the explosion, there was a large emission of solar plasma, which caused a magnetic storm.

On October 10, the densest cores of solar matter had already reached the Earth, causing auroras. Then a magnetic storm of the highest level, level five, had begun. By the next day, its power had dropped to level four.