Understanding solar flares: How explosions on Sun’s surface can lead to radio blackouts

Source: The post is based on the article “Understanding solar flares: How explosions on Sun’s surface can lead to radio blackouts” published in Down To Earth on 6th July 2023

What is the News?

The Sun emitted an X-class solar flare disrupting radio communications over parts of the United States and the Pacific Ocean.

What are Solar Flares?

Source: Reuters

A solar flare is a tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in ‘twisted’ magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released.

​​They can heat a substance to several millions of degrees in a matter of minutes, producing a burst of radiation that spans the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays.

Impact of Solar Flares: Solar Flares can affect radio communications, power grids and navigation signals and endanger astronauts and spacecraft.

Categories: Solar flares can be divided into various categories based on their brightness in X-ray wavelengths. 

– X-class flares are large, significant events that have the power to cause global radio blackouts and persistent radiation storms in the upper atmosphere.

– Medium-sized M-class flares typically result in brief radio blackouts that affect the Earth’s polar regions. Sometimes an M-class flare is followed by small radiation storms. 

– C-class flares are slight and have little effect on the Earth.