New X-class flare occurs on Sun: What problems has it caused on Earth?

March 30, 2023  10:20

In early Tuesday morning, a new powerful X-class flare occurred on the Sun. The Solar Dynamics Observatory of NASA reports that the intensity of this flare was estimated by the Х1.2 index. During that event, high-frequency radio communication on the illuminated side of the Earth deteriorated sharply, and in some places it disappeared altogether.

Normally, X-class flares—the peak intensity of which exceeds 10-4 W/m2—occur quite rarely on the Sun, but this year there have already been several of them. The previous one occurred on February 17 and was classified as X2.28, with a peak intensity of 2.28x10-4 W/m2. Like the last flare, this one also caused a blackout of radio communications on Earth.

via GIPHY

Another fairly powerful X1.1 flare occurred on February 11. On the evening of January 9, the most powerful flare of this year took place on the Sun, and it was “awarded” the X1.9 class. This was the second strongest flare in the last five years; the first one took place in September 2017. And this year, the first flare of class X occurred on January 6 at 4:57am Armenia time, and it was awarded class X1.2.

The following classes of solar flares are distinguished:

Flare class

Peak intensity (W/m2)

A

up to 10−7

B

from 1,0×10−7 to 10−6

C

from 1,0×10−6 to 10−5

M

from 1,0×10−5 to 10−4

X

more than 10−4

The Sun has been relatively "quiet" for the last decade, whereas now it is "moving" toward the peak of its activeness in another 11-year cycle. The current cycle is the 25th since scientists began detailed observations. It started in December 2019 and will reach its peak in late 2024 or early 2025. This peak could be higher than the previous one and cause power and communication failures on Earth and even damage satellites and spacecraft crews.

NASA specialists are closely studying the increasing activeness of the Sun, primarily for the upcoming Artemis missions which will send a manned spacecraft to the Moon in 2025. Solar flares and emissions can affect the performance of devices and the health of astronauts, and that is the reason why experts are now monitoring solar activity so closely.


 
 
 
 
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