The largest explosions in the solar system, a solar flare is an explosion of energy that occurs on the sun’s surface, often appearing as a localized burst of bright light.
The Sun emitted the strongest solar flare in seven years Thursday, and space weather forecasters are watching to see what impacts this event has on Earth, including displays of the Northern Lights and implications for the power grid, radio communications and GPS.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said the X9.0 flare was seen blasting from the Sun on Thursday morning. An X flare is the most intense, and the number represents its strength. While the Sun frequently produces these bursts of energy, flares of this magnitude are uncommon.
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The X9.0 flare takes the crown from the previous strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25, which was an X8.7 flare on May 14. Thursday’s flare is the 15th strongest on record, reports Space Weather Watch.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the center – on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows a blend of 171 Angstrom, and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.
(NASA/SDO)
The Sun is approaching its solar maximum in Solar Cycle 25 – 11 years of activity marked by a crescendo of sun spots, which can lead to solar flares and more space weather events. Since May, the Sun has created its top three strongest flares of the cycle, with two of those happening this week.
GPS, HF radio signals can be impacted during solar storms
The immediate impacts of the flare include strong degradation or signal loss for high-frequency communication bands over much of the sunlit side of Earth. According to the SWPC, high-frequency radio signals may experience loss of contact or major disruptions for minutes up to a couple of hours.
During solar radiation storms of this magnitude, GPS navigation errors are likely, which could impact equipment that relies on GPS, such as tractors, as farmers experienced during May’s extreme solar storms.
What is the Northern Lights forecast for the US?
Before this latest eruption from the Sun, the SWPC had issued a Geomagnetic Storm Watch from Thursday through Saturday after an X7.1, the third-strongest of the solar cycle.
The SWPC rates solar storms on a five-level scale, with five being the most extreme and rarest space weather conditions.
According to the SWPC, coronal mass ejection impacts from the X7.1 flare are forecast to begin arriving beginning Thursday. A period of G3 “strong” geomagnetic storming conditions is possible on Friday. These conditions could produce Aurora Borealis or Northern lights as far south as Iowa and across the Midwest.
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These stronger geomagnetic storms are less common than G1 or G2 events. However, Earth experienced near-global auroras in May, even as far south as Florida, when an “extreme” (G5) geomagnetic storm occurred because of two groups of extremely active sunspots.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the center – on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows a blend of 171 Angstrom, and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.
(NASA/SDO)
With the new, stronger flare, space weather forecasters told FOX Weather that it’s “very likely” that it has Earth-directed components. Depending on satellite observations taken the next day, the current Geomagnetic Storm Watch could be extended or upgraded to a warning.
If the SWPC forecasts a severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm, Northern Lights could be visible as far south as the Carolinas.
Stay with FOX Weather for the latest space weather forecasts and updates on this developing story.