Biggest explosion in the Sun in 6 years increased danger to Earth Watch Video

Solar Storm Alert: Has the ongoing activity in the Sun reached its peak? This question has arisen due to an explosion in the Sun. According to reports, the largest solar flare has been observed in the Sun since September 2017. An X2.8 category eruption occurred on Thursday from a sunspot named 3514. This means that a major solar storm could affect the planets of our solar system in the next day or two.

American space agency NASA has already told that our Sun is going through its 11 year solar cycle and is in a very active phase. Due to this, incidents like Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and Solar Flare are happening in it. This trend may continue till 2025.

Today’s X2.8-class solar flare is the most intense solar flare since September 10, 2017 (2,295 days ago).
Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory, 131 Angstroms pic.twitter.com/UY3aOifH2C

— Space Weather Watch (@spacewxwatch) December 14, 2023

According to reports, due to the recent solar flare, geomagnetic storms may occur on Earth on December 15 or 16. Its intensity on December 17 may be higher.

What is CME?

Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are large clouds of solar plasma. After a solar explosion, these clouds spread in space in the Sun's magnetic field. Due to their rotation in space, they expand and often reach a distance of several lakhs of miles. Many times they collide with the magnetic fields of the planets. When their direction is towards the Earth, they can cause geomagnetic disturbances. Due to these, short circuits may occur in satellites and the power grid may be affected. If their impact is severe, they can also put astronauts in Earth's orbit in danger.

According to reports, a day earlier on December 14, a solar flare caused a shortwave radio blackout in the US. This affected ham radio operators.