NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured an image of a mid-level solar flare on March 11, 2015, seen as a bright flash of light close to the center of the solar disk.
The X2.2-class flare, March 11, 2015. Image credit: SDO / NASA.
Solar flares are brief, enormous outbursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun lasting from minutes to hours.
They produce enhanced emission in all wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum, including radio, optical, UV, hard and soft X-rays, and gamma-rays.
Researchers classify solar flares according to their brightness in the X-ray wavelengths.
There are three categories of solar flares: C, M, and X.
C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth.
M-class flares are medium-sized; they generally cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare.
Compared to C- and M-class events, X-class flares are big; they are major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the whole world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere.
The March 11 event is classified as an X2.2-class flare (an X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc).
SDO observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
