Another X-flare from the sun

As the video above shows, the sun has been active this month! There were X-flares on the sun earlier in September, and the same Active Region on the sun – AR2673 – again emitted an X-flare on September 10, 2017, just as it was rotating out of our earthly view due to the sun’s spin on its axis.

NASA said:

The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Sept. 10, 2017 (16:06 UTC). NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. 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.

To see how this event may affect Earth, visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center at spaceweather.gov.

This flare is classified as an X8.2-class flare. NASA said:

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.

This flare is the capstone on a series of flares from Active Region 2673, which was identified on Aug. 29 and is currently rotating off the front of the sun as part of our star’s normal rotation.

Bottom line: A video of solar flares so far in September 2017 and images of the X8.2-class flare on September 10, 2017. Active Region 2673, which produced the X-flares, has now rotated out of our view.

Via NASA