indy100 by Sinead Butler
A huge solar flare from the Sun may have caused radio blackouts last week, NASA experts have warned.
Global communications have already been disrupted as a result of the flare, specifically in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, where R3-level radio blackouts have been experienced.
The flare originated from sunspot AR4087 and peaked on May 14 at around 8:35 AM (GMT), as per the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), while NASA has been observing and recording the X2.7 solar flare from its Solar Dynamics Observatory.
It occurred in an area of the Sun that has been turning towards Earth and is one of the strongest ones that have occurred since March, and the SWPC noted how solar flares of this size are uncommon.
To put it in perspective, there are classification levels by which solar flares are graded (A, B, C, M, and X), and there's a tenfold boost in emitted energy for each level, Space.com reported.
More:
https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/solar-flare-sun-radio-blackout-warning-nasa
