Largest Solar Flare since 2017: What to expect

Good Morning weather family! I have some breaking news to share with you all! We have just had an X9 Solar flare erupt from a sunspot facing the Earth! This is the largest solar flare since 2017 and could create major disruptions in radio communications and GPS.

This might concern you, what is a solar flare? What does this mean for us? Most importantly, will we see an Aurora? I have all the answers for you in my latest blog post!

(Solar Webpage)

What is a solar flare?

A solar flare is defined as a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface, associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions. (Google)

Solar flares are also classified as C, M, and X. X is considered the strongest.

(Astronomy and Law)

As you can see, the smallest solar flares do little to the Earth, while some of the largest can have blackout consequences on Earth. Our latest flare was ranked at an incredible X9 flare. For reference, an X9 flare is 9 times more intense than an X1 flare. These are the strongest flares and can have significant impacts on Earth. These flares can cause widespread blackouts across the world due to their sheer strength and the amount of solar radiation emitted from them. These solar flares are rare, and the last time one of this magnitude occurred, pointed toward Earth, was in 2017.

What does this mean for us?

Well, now with the knowledge of what a solar flare is, what will it do to us? We can expect GPS navigation problems and blackouts worldwide. It's not likely that everyone across the world sees trouble with GPS and power, however, whoever the solar flare is directed to could easily see problems. Those using Starlink and satellites are especially susceptible to problems. This is due to satellites being directly exposed to solar radiation ejected from the sun. This, depending on the strength of the storm, can even cause them to crash into the earth. This is caused by their GPS systems being thrown off by solar radiation and crashing down to earth. My recommendation is to be prepared for possible power outages and internet/GPS outages.

Will we see an Aurora?

This is probably the biggest question you have been wondering this entire time. Will our skies light up this week? The answer is, maybe.

With an X9 flare, if the timing is just right, and we see affect during the nighttime, an aurora is entirely possible, if not, likely. The aurora we would see is would not be as vibrant as the image above. Still, cameras could see a slight red in the sky if you take a picture with some exposure. It is very rare for us to see an aurora, and this could potentially be the 2nd time this year!

This rare solar storm would have good and bad impacts for us. GPS and Power could go out, while we could be treated to a once-in-a-decade event of seeing the Aurora Borealis! Make sure to check on the latest blog post as I will give updates on this incoming storm. You can do this by subscribing to my newsletter! The link to join is below, join today!

Author: Remington Diedrich