Solar flare

Latest about Solar flare

A solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light. Here we see a fiery orange and black orb and at one point a white-hot explosion taking place.

Whip-cracking burst of energy from sun could explain solar wind

By Ben Turner published

Scientists have long hypothesized about this phenomenon, but this is the first time it’s been directly observed.

Space
On June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT, the sun shot out a solar flare (left side), which was followed by an eruption of solar material shooting through the sun's atmosphere.

Could a solar storm ever destroy Earth?

By Brandon Specktor last updated

Could a solar storm ever destroy Earth? According to scientists, there’s no evidence that any solar weather has ever harmed a human.

The Sun
A high-resolution GREGOR image of a sunspot, a cool, dark magnetic storm on the sun.

A planet-size sunspot grew 10-fold in the last 2 days, and it's aimed directly at Earth

By Brandon Specktor published

Scientists are watching as a planet-size sunspot has grown tenfold in the last two days and could launch solar flares directly toward Earth.

The Sun
This NASA illustration depicts a solitary black hole in space, with its gravity warping the view of stars and galaxies in the background.

The 7 most terrifying things in space

By Jamie Carter published

Here are seven of the most terrifying things in space, including solar flares, black holes and supernovas.

Astronomy
The near side of the sun, pictured in August 2022

Huge, potentially disruptive sunspot will swing round to face Earth this weekend

By Jamie Carter published

A huge sunspot that's about to face Earth could disrupt satellites, cause power outages and lead to problems for airplane navigation systems.

The Sun
The two massive sunspot groups, known as AR 2993 and AR 2994, became visible a few days ago at the northeast limb of the sun after becoming active while still hidden by the sun's disk.

Giant sunspot doubled in size in 24 hours, and it's pointing right at Earth

By Ben Turner last updated

The sunspot is caused by the knotting of powerful magnetic-field lines.

The Sun
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper left portion of the image – on April 20, 2022. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares, and which is colorized in yellow.

Powerful solar ‘burp’ flares on the surface of the sun

By Elizabeth Howell published

The sun is a beehive of flaring activity in a stunning new photo from a NASA spacecraft.

The Sun
A solar flare and coronal mass ejection were observed being launched from “dead” sunspot AR 2987 on April 11, 2022.

'Dead sunspot' launches ball of plasma toward Earth

By Stephanie Pappas published

The "corpse" of a sunspot exploded Monday (April 11), triggering a mass ejection of solar material that is headed in Earth's direction.

The Sun
A massive coronal mass ejection erupting from the sun in 2017.

'Cannibal' coronal mass ejection will hit Earth at nearly 2 million mph, scientists say

By Ben Turner published

The giant solar flare is a combination of two massive ejections from the sun's surface.

The Sun
The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, an M7.9-class, peaking at 4:16 a.m. EDT on June 25, 2015. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.

Powerful solar flare from recent sun eruption should reach Earth Wednesday

By Chelsea Gohd published

A powerful solar flare has been traveling through space and will arrive at Earth Wednesday (Feb. 2).

The Sun
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