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X-flare of Saturday, March 29

Posted by in Today's Image | March 30, 2014

Solar flares are short-lived but powerful bursts of radiation. They are our solar system’s largest explosive events, lasting minutes to hours on the sun’s surface.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash of the X-flare that occurred on the sun on March 29, 2014.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash of the X-flare that occurred on the sun on March 29, 2014.

An X-flare – the most powerful kind of solar flare – flashed briefly from the sun yesterday (March 29, 2014). It propelled a coronal mass ejection, or CME, into space, the bulk of the CME is due to pass north of the sun-Earth line. However, a faint Earth-directed component could deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on April 1-2, producing beautiful auroras or northern lights.

Are solar storms dangerous to us?

Will I see the northern lights tonight?

Read about a rare “magnetic crochet” from yesterday’s X-flare at SpaceWeather.com

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

Tonight

Full moon, faint eclipse, November 29-30

November full moon south of Pleiades cluster and north of the star Aldebaran.

Today's Image

Monster sunspot AR2786 swings into better view

Monster sunspot AR2786 swings into better view

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