Solar flare from Sun causes radio blackout over Indian Ocean, could spark minor geomagnetic storm

Categories: SCIENCE NEWS

     Entering its new cycle, activities on the sun are picking up pace as the bright star emitted a major flare on Thursday. Sunspot AR2929 erupted, producing a powerful M5.5-class solar flare, which has been recorded by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory in an extreme ultraviolet flash.

    Solar flares usually take place in active regions, which are areas on the Sun marked by the presence of strong magnetic fields, typically associated with sunspot groups. As these magnetic fields evolve, they can reach a point of instability and release energy in a variety of forms.

WHAT IS A SOLAR FLARE?

    A solar flare is a sudden, rapid, and intense explosion on the surface of the Sun that happens when massive amounts of energy stored in magnetic fields are suddenly released. The explosion emits radiation across the length and breadth of the universe, hurtling them towards planets in the solar system. These radiations contain radio waves, x-rays and gamma rays.

   The Thursday eruption has been classified as an M class, which are medium-sized. They can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth's polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare.

   According to spaceweather.com, geomagnetic unrest is possible on January 22-23-24 as a series of Coronal Mass Ejections deliver glancing blows to Earth's magnetic field. Two of the CMEs were hurled into space by M-class flares from departing sunspot AR2929, a third has also left the sun's surface.

   While they will not hit the planet directly, together the three could spark minor G1-class geomagnetic storms. A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth.