A giant active region on the sun erupted Sunday (October 26, it is pictured above), with its sixth substantial flare since October 19. This flare was
classified as an X2-class flare and it peaked at 6:56 a.m. EDT. This is the
third X-class flare in 48 hours, erupting from the largest active region seen on the sun in 24 years.
This
huge sunspot – called AR 12192 – is around 129,000 kilometers across. That’s
big enough for 10 Earths to sit side-by-side along its diameter.
X-class denotes the most intense flares,
while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice
as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
Solar
flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot
pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground,
however – when intense enough – they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer
where GPS and communications signals travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment