Active Region on the Sun Emits Another Flare
The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, peaking at 11:17 p.m. EDT. The flare came from an active region on the left side of the sun that has been numbered AR 1598, which has already been the source of a number of weaker flares. This flare was classified as an X.1-class flare.
"X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, and on. An X-class flare of this intensity can cause degradation or blackouts of radio communications for about an hour.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This can disrupt radio signals for anywhere from minutes to hours.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which is the United States government's official source for space weather forecasts and alerts, categorized the radio blackout associated with this flare as an R3, on a scale from R1 to R5. It has since subsided.
Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in 2013. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered in 1843, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun's peak activity. The first X-class flare of the current solar cycle occurred on Feb. 15, 2011 and there have been 15 X-class flares total in this cycle, including this one. The largest X-class flare in this cycle was an X6.9 on Aug. 9, 2011. This is the 7th X-class flare in 2012 with the largest being an X5.4 flare on March 7.
This flare did not have an associated Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth.
Watch this video on YouTube.
Video of a solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012 as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 and 304 angstrom wavelengths. The 131 wavelength of light is used for observing solar material heated to 10 million degrees Kelvin, as in a solar flare. The wavelength is typically colorized in teal, as it is here.
Credit: NASA/SDO/GSFC
By observing the sun in a number of different wavelengths, NASA's telescopes can tease out different aspects of events on the sun. These four images of a solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, show from the top left, and moving clockwise: light from the sun in the 171 angstrom wavelength, which shows the structure of loops of solar material in the sun's atmosphere, the corona; light in 335 angstroms, which highlights light from active regions in the corona; a magnetogram, which shows magnetically active regions on the sun; light in the 304 wavelength, which shows light from the region of the sun's atmosphere where flares originate.
Credit: NASA/SDO/GSFC
By observing the sun in a number of different wavelengths, NASA's telescopes can tease out different aspects of events on the sun. These four images of a solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, show from the top left, and moving clockwise: light from the sun in the 171 angstrom wavelength, which shows the structure of loops of solar material in the sun's atmosphere, the corona; light in 335 angstroms, which highlights light from active regions in the corona; a magnetogram, which shows magnetically active regions on the sun; light in the 304 wavelength, which shows light from the region of the sun's atmosphere where flares originate.
Credit: NASA/SDO/GSFC
A solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012 as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 angstrom wavelength. This wavelength of light is used for observing solar material heated to 10 million degrees Kelvin, as in a solar flare. The wavelength is typically colorized in teal, as it is here.
Credit: NASA/SDO
For More Information
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual images should be credited as indicated above.
-
Writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
-
Video editor
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Producers
- Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:-
Heliophysics Breaking News 2012 collection
(ID: 2012048)
Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 4:00AM
Produced by - Robert Crippen
Related Pages
-
-
ID: 11203 Produced Video
SDO: Year 3
Read moreOn Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the sun. If all went according to plan, SDO would provide incredibly high-resolution data of the entire solar disk almost as quickly as once a second. When the science team released its first images in April of 2010, SDO's data exceeded everyone's hopes and expectations, providing stunningly detailed views of the sun. In the three years since then, SDO's images have continued to show breathtaking pictures and movies of eruptive events on the sun. Such imagery is more than just pretty, they are the very data that scientists study. By highlighting different wavelengths of light, scientists can track how material on the sun moves. Such movement, in turn, holds clues as to what causes these giant explosions, which, when Earth-directed, can disrupt technology in space. SDO is the first mission in a NASA's Living With a Star program, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. built, operates, and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.SDO: Year One here.SDO: Year 2 here.Information about the individual clips used in this video is here.Watch this video on YouTube. ||
-
ID: 10959 Produced Video
NASA Scientists Answer Top Space Weather Questions
Read moreNASA scientists answer some common questions about the sun, space weather, and how they affect the Earth. This is a two-part series.Part One addresses:1. What is space weather?2. What are coronal mass ejections?3. What are solar flares?4. What are solar energetic particles?5. What causes flares and CMEs?Part Two addresses:1. Do all flares and CMEs affect the Earth?2. What happens when a flare or CME hits the Earth?3. How quickly can we feel the effects of space weather?4. Why are there more flares and CMEs happening now?For more information about all these questions and more, visit NASA's Space Weather FAQ.For individual interview responses to frequently asked space weather questions, go here. ||
-
ID: 10109 Produced Video
X-Class: A Guide to Solar Flares
Read moreFlares happen when the powerful magnetic fields in and around the sun reconnect. They're usually associated with active regions, often seen as sun spots, where the magnetic fields are strongest. Flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M and X, the largest. Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a ten-fold increase in energy output. So an X is 10 times an M and 100 times a C. Within each letter class, there is a finer scale from 1 to 9. C-class flares are too weak to noticeably affect Earth. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that might endanger astronauts. Although X is the last letter, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. The most powerful flare on record was in 2003, during the last solar maximum. It was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it. They cut-out at X17, and the flare was later estimated to be about X45. A powerful X-class flare like that can create long lasting radiation storms, which can harm satellites and even give airline passengers, flying near the poles, small radiation doses. X flares also have the potential to create global transmission problems and world-wide blackouts. ||
-