A massive X5-class solar flare was detected by Earth-orbiting satellites just hours before 2024 began, the most potent eruption the sun has produced since 2017. Its aftermath looks set to cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth on January 2, which could mean displays of the northern lights (also called aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere.
According to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, it peaked at 21:55 UTC (4:55 p.m. EST) on December 31, shortly after NASA declared on social media that 2023’s most significant flare was an X2.8 flare on December 14. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory detected it.
Strong solar flares known as X-class flares can have a big impact on our planet. They can mess with Earth’s magnetic field and cause problems with things like satellites, communication equipment, and even power grids. They can also be dangerous for astronauts who are orbiting the planet.
A solar flare is an eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the sun’s atmosphere. They’re caused by twisted magnetic fields, typically above sunspots—cooler, darker regions of the sun’s surface that form when clumps of its magnetic field well up from deep within the sun.
They are graded according to their severity, with B-class, followed by C, M, and X, according to NASA. It works similarly to the Richter scale for earthquakes, with each letter representing a ten-fold increase in energy output.
The X5 flare was the strongest of Solar Cycle 25, which began in 2019 and is due to peak soon. The X5 flare is the strongest since September 10, 2017 when an X8.2 flare occurred, according to the SWPC.
In late October, experts predicted that the new window for solar maximum—the point at which the sun’s magnetic activity is most potent—will be between January and October 2024. The sun has an 11-year cycle during which its magnetic activity waxes and wanes.
