-image-of-X5-4-solar-flare.jpeg?trim=0,109,0,109&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Powerful solar flare causes radio blackout over Pacific – UK Times")
A powerful solar flare unleashed by the Sun on Sunday caused a radio blackout across parts of the Pacific Ocean, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
The strong “X2.0-class” flare erupted from the Sun at about 7.30 pm GMT from a sunspot rotating out of view from the Earth, the agency said.
A solar flare is an eruption of energy from the Sun lasting a few minutes to hours.
Solar flares are ranked on a four-class scale designated with the letters M, C, B, and X, with X-class flares being the strongest. The number after the letter indicates the strength of the individual flare.
Each succeeding class is less frequent and 10 times stronger than the previous one.
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Researchers observing the Sun found that Sunday’s flare emerged along with high levels of ultraviolet radiation from sunspot AR 4001, which is located close to the Sun’s northwestern limb.
“The source of this event appears to be a region that is on or just beyond the NW limb, possibly AR 4001,” the American agency said.
Such flares are known to disrupt high-frequency radio signals in sunlit parts of the Earth.
“Users of high-frequency radio signals may experience temporary degradation or complete loss of signal on much of the sunlit side of Earth,” the agency said in a statement.
“Flares of this magnitude are not frequent.”
The effects of flares on communication signals are categorised on a scale ranging from the weakest R1 category to the strongest R5.
Sunday’s flare was designated “R3”, meaning it brought “strong” effects with a “wide area blackout of HF radio communication and loss of radio contact for about an hour on the sunlit side of Earth”.
Solar flares can affect radio communications, power grids, navigation systems, satellites, and astronauts in space.
X-class flares are known to cause a degradation of low-frequency navigation signals “for about an hour”.
Minor to moderate solar flare activity is likely this week, the agency said, adding that there’s “a chance for R3 or greater events over 25 to 27 February”.
“There is a slight chance for additional activity reaching this magnitude over the next few days,” according to the agency.
The Sun is currently at the peak of its roughly 11-year activity cycle, during which it is expected to emit many more solar flares.
