- The Sun sent out a monster solar flare of high-energy radiation that NASA captured on Thursday in what NOAA Space Weather said was “likely one of the largest” such events ever recorded.
- Why it matters: These powerful bursts of energy “can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts,” per a NASA statement. Radio frequency blackouts were reported across the U.S. after this one.
- Although rare, these large bursts of plasma from the Sun, known as extreme coronal mass ejections (CME), could cause a months-long blackout on Earth, billions of dollars in damage and harm satellites.
- A Lancaster University study published Monday found these solar storms can also cause errors on railways, switching train signals from red to green in “the worst case scenario.”
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Sun’s Strongest Solar Flare In Years Knocks Out Radio Frequencies
FILE - This Monday, Jan. 12, 2015 photo provided by NASA shows the first notable solar flare of 2015, as observed from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. On Friday, July 16, 2021, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting a solar storm is heading toward Earth and could impact cell phone signals and cause blackouts. But Alex Young, solar physicist at NASA, says a July 3 solar flare did interfere with some high frequency communication, but the impact was less than it could have been. “This was really very slow and it was not fully directed at Earth,” Young said. “We don’t have any expectation of seeing any impact on Earth.” (AP Photo/NASA, File)
