A powerful solar flare three times the size of Earth was observed during the beginning of this year.
STEREO spacecrafts and NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory were able to capture a massive X-flare as it occurred in the Sun's area directly facing our planet. The said solar flare belongs to the largest type of flares based on the Richter scale of solar explosions. They were observed on Tuesday, 18:32 GMT (1: 32 EST).
The massive solar flare was emitted above a group of sunspots, called the AR1944. The AR1944 is also considered as the one of the biggest groups of sunspots discovered over the last ten years.
According to NASA, observations of the solar flares reflected that the phenomena seemed to emit a large cloud of charged particles, known as the coronal mass ejection (CME) at a projectile directed to Earth.
On the ground, people from several parts of the world may be able to see the flare in the form of northern lights or auroras. According to the National Geographic, these sky shows will start approximately on January 9, in the mid-morning hours in the GMT time zone and very early morning for EST. This is the time when the cloud is expected to clash with the Earth's magnetic field.
According to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, the chances of having a geomagnetic storm impacting the Earth are up by 60 percent. These magnetic storms are caused by the CME directed towards our planet.
SWPC uses a diverse set of space and ground apparatus to be able to monitor the Sun's activities accurately. They use space-based sensors and imaging platforms to measure activity within varying depths in our solar atmosphere. Sunspot groups and other priority areas of the Sun are carefully monitored by USAF-sponsored observatories that also come up with space weather forecasts and information about the Sun's activity.
