The Sun Emits a Mid-level Flare and CME

  • Released Thursday, April 11, 2013
  • Updated Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 5:29PM
  • ID: 11246
The sun emitted a mid-level flare, peaking at 3:16 a.m. EDT on April 11, 2013.

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 disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, anywhere from minutes to hours.

This flare is classified as an M6.5 flare, some ten times less powerful than the strongest flares, which are labeled X-class flares. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. This flare produced a radio blackout that has since subsided. The blackout was categorized as an R2 on a scale between R1 and R5 on NOAA's space weather scales.

This is the strongest flare seen so far in 2013. 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 late 2013. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun's peak activity.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 angstroms.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 angstroms.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 angstroms. Cropped to flare region.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 angstroms. Cropped to flare region.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 11:48 p.m. EDT April 10, to 5:48 EDT April 11. Labeled.

Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 3:48 EDT to 4:36 EDT. Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 3:48 EDT to 4:36 EDT. Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.

Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 3:48 EDT to 4:36 EDT. Mars can be seen on the left. Unlabeled.Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 3:48 EDT to 4:36 EDT. Mars can be seen on the left. Unlabeled.

Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 at course of 3:48 EDT to 4:54 EDT. Venus and Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 at course of 3:48 EDT to 4:54 EDT. Venus and Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.

Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 at course of 3:48 EDT to 4:54 EDT. Venus and Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 at course of 3:48 EDT to 4:54 EDT. Venus and Mars can be seen on the left. Labeled.

Credit: SOHO/ESA & NASA/GSFC

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows light at a wavelength of 131 angstroms.Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows light at a wavelength of 131 angstroms.

Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows light at a wavelength of 171 angstroms.Credit: NASA/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M6.5 class flare at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows light at a wavelength of 171 angstroms.

Credit: NASA/SDO

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News031513-m6flare.html

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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SOHO
NASA and ESA

SOHO monitors the Sun with a variety of instruments. Among the SOHO instruments is the Michelson Doppler Interferometer (MDI) and the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT).

Dataset can be found at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov

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SDO

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SDO AIA 131 (A.K.A. 131 Filter) (Collected with the AIA sensor)
JOINT SCIENCE OPERATIONS CENTER

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SDO AIA 171 (A.K.A. 171 Filter) (Collected with the AIA sensor)
JOINT SCIENCE OPERATIONS CENTER

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SOHO LASCO/C2 (A.K.A. C2) (Collected with the Large Angle Spectrometric COronagraph (LASCO) sensor)
NASA and ESA

Dataset can be found at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov

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SOHO LASCO/C3 (A.K.A. C3) (Collected with the Large Angle Spectrometric COronagraph (LASCO) sensor)
NASA and ESA

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