The sun has unleashed the strongest solar flare of the year, triggering strong radio blackouts across the globe.
Just after 11:30 a.m. ET, a massive X2.7-class solar flare erupted from a newly emerging from a cold, dark region known as AR4087.
X-class flares are the most intense in the solar storm scale — capable of disrupting communications, damaging satellites, and even threatening power grids on Earth.
These flares are born from sunspots — dark, cooler areas on the Sun’s surface where intense magnetic activity builds up.
When that magnetic energy is suddenly released, it can launch powerful bursts of plasma and radiation into space at the speed of light.
If directed at Earth, these high-energy waves can ionize the upper atmosphere, creating radiation storms that interfere with high-frequency radio signals and other technology-dependent systems.
Tuesday’s flare was rated an X2.7, placing it on the lower end of the most dangerous class of solar flares, but still powerful enough to impact large swaths of the planet.
Experts warn that more flares may be on the way as sunspot AR4087 rotates into direct alignment with Earth in the coming days, increasing the chances of further solar storms.
The sun has unleashed the strongest solar flare of the year, triggering strong radio blackouts across the globe (STOCK)
The flare sent X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation hurtling toward Earth at the speed of light, rapidly ionizing the upper atmosphere.
In other words, this sudden surge of radiation caused electrons to break away from molecules in the outermost layer of the atmosphere, making it electrically charged.
This charge disrupted high-frequency radio signals, leading to communication blackouts for some radio operators in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
These regions were the only ones affected because they were on the daylight side of Earth when the solar flare erupted.
Experts say we can expect more solar flares through next week as sunspot AR4087 rotates to directly face Earth.
‘This is getting intense, especially as this active region turns closer into view,’ aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina wrote in a post on X early Wednesday morning.
Following the X-class flare, the sunspot unleashed another burst of energy — an M5.3-class solar flare, he added.
‘What does this [active region] have planned over the next days… we’ll have to wait and see,’ Ledvina wrote.
Just after 11:30am ET Tuesday morning, an X-class solar flare — the biggest kind — shot out of a newly emerging sunspot called AR4087
Just before 7:20am ET Wednesday morning, sunspot AR4087 emitted yet another solar flare: an M7.74.
Last May, representatives local and national government agencies gathered to conduct a tabletop exercise that revealed major weaknesses in America’s preparedness for a severe solar storm.
The exercise lasted two days, and asked the participants to pretend that the sun sent several giant coronal mass ejections (CME) — which are larger and more impactful that solar flares — hurtling toward Earth.
These enormous plumes of charged particles take days to reach Earth. When they slam into the atmosphere, they can cause major disruptions to the planet’s magnetic field and the upper atmosphere called geomagnetic storms.
In this scenario, the resulting geomagnetic storm would lead to technological chaos on Earth.
The participants quickly realized that significant limitations of space weather forecasting capabilities prevented them from making quick, effective decisions.
This exercise demonstrated the need to improve forecasting technologies and techniques so that the US is prepared to weather any storm the sun sends its way.