WASHINGTON — A massive storm over the Sun discharged the largest solar flare in more than three years on Sunday, No. 29. <br /><br />Astronomer Tony Phillips reports at Spaceweather.com that the sun experienced a massive explosion known as a coronal mass ejection behind the southeast solar limb on Sunday. This was classified as an M-class flare by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is a medium-sized blast. While the flare was not Earth-directed, and was partially eclipsed by the Sun, it did cause radio blackouts in the South Atlantic.<br /><br />However, Sunday's flare is just part of the beginning of a new solar cycle, which is called the solar minimum, and scientists expect a period of increasing activity and explosive sunspots until the solar maximum in roughly mid-2025.<br /><br />A more violent X-class flare directed toward Earth could cause fluctuations in power grids as well as high-frequency radio blackouts and navigational issues over the sunlit part of Earth. Humans are more vulnerable to solar flare now because of our increasingly digital society and reliance on satellite-based communications.<br /><br />According to NASA, solar flares take place when magnetic energy built up within the sun's atmosphere is suddenly released.<br /><br />They impact everything on the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to X-rays. The energy released is equivalent to millions of 100-megaton nuclear bombs exploding at the same time.
