An intense explosion emanated from the Sun, causing ionization of the upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere and resulting in a severe shortwave radio blackout in southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The source of this flare was identified as sunspot AR3256, located near the southwestern edge of our Solar System’s star.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory, responsible for monitoring the Sun, detected and recorded the eruption. The magnitude of the flare was determined to be X1.2, classified as an X-class flare representing the most severe category of flares. The accompanying number indicates the intensity of the flare.
According to NASA, solar flares are highly energetic outbursts that have the potential to affect various systems such as radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals. Additionally, solar eruptions and flares can pose a risk to spacecraft and astronauts.
In a span of only three months in 2023, the Sun has emitted its seventh explosion of this nature. This number is equivalent to the total number of flares witnessed in the entirety of 2022. The recent explosion suggests that the Sun is rapidly accelerating its activity and moving towards the peak of its solar cycle.
As per the report by Spaceweather.com, a flare struck Earth on March 29, resulting in the ionization of the atmosphere. This caused a signal loss and other propagation effects, particularly below 30 MHz, which may have been evident to Ham radio operators.
A few days ago, a massive geomagnetic storm, the strongest one witnessed in three years, affected Earth. This event occurred shortly after a colossal explosion originating from a large coronal hole in the southern hemisphere of the Sun led to the geomagnetic storm.
A disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere, known as a geomagnetic storm, happens when there is an effective transfer of energy from the solar wind into the space surrounding our planet.
In the previous week, a plasma explosion occurred above the surface of the Sun, reaching a height equivalent to 14 Earths stacked together. This event triggered four significant solar flares, 22 coronal mass ejections, and a geomagnetic storm caused by the Sun’s activity.
