May 15, 2025
The sun recently unleashed its most powerful solar flare of the year, an X2.7-class event that occurred just after 11:30 AM ET on Tuesday. Originating from a developing sunspot labeled AR4087, the flare released high-intensity radiation that caused widespread radio blackouts across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Sunspots are cooler, darker regions on the sun where magnetic fields are especially strong, often producing flares that eject plasma toward Earth. When these flares are strong and Earth-directed, they can trigger radiation storms capable of disrupting radio communications, damaging satellites, and even affecting power grids.
This X2.7 flare, while at the lower end of the most intense classification, still emitted powerful X-rays and ultraviolet radiation that reached Earth nearly instantly. The radiation ionized the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating an electrically charged environment that interfered with high-frequency radio signals in sunlit regions. X-class flares are rare and ranked by strength from one to nine. Experts warn that further flares may occur in the coming days as sunspot AR4087 rotates to face Earth more directly. Vincent Ledvina, an aurora chaser, noted the region's heightened activity and reported a subsequent M5.3-class flare, leaving open the possibility of more disruptions ahead.
Stay Awake. Keep Watch.
SOURCE: Daily Mail