An Explosion from the Sun Is Causing Blackouts Near Australia and Asia

Similar to how the moon shapes the gravitational pull of the Earth, the Sun has some explosive effects that happen to us almost instantaneously. Recently, an explosion from the Sun sent an energized charge through space that triggered blackouts near Australia and South Asia.

According to the Daily Mail, the long-duration flare was released from the Sun at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday. The solar storm reached Earth shortly after.

Solar flares are a natural phenomenon that are created when an incredible amount of energy in the form of light and particles rupture to create one of the most powerful explosions in the solar system.

This releases intense bursts of radiation across various wavelengths, from radio waves to X-rays and gamma rays. While powerful, they don’t actually tear the Sun apart, nor do they have any massive effects on Earth.

This recent explosion was more effective than the average solar flare. Physicists are classifying this solar flare as an M-class flare, which can cause small to moderate radio blackouts on the daylight side of Earth.

Within each letter category, a numeral suffix ranging from 1 to 9 is used to indicate the precise intensity within that classification. For example, an M5 solar flare is stronger than an M2.

The alert is largely for frequencies used by aviation communication, government time stations, weather stations, and amateur radio and citizen band service.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are massive eruptions of plasma from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Sometimes, large solar flares, like M-class flares, can create the conditions necessary for a CME to erupt.

CEMs can also produce a geomagnetic storm that can temporarily disrupt Earth’s magnetosphere, the planet’s magnetic field, and orbiting satellites.

The M-class flare isn’t the only flare coming from the unstable sunspot indefinite as AR3575. The region AR3575 is moving toward our planet and is so large that NASA’s Mars rover spotted it last week.

The sun’s energy is like a tightly stretched rubber band. When released, an intense burst of radiation is sent across various wavelengths, from radio waves to X-rays and gamma rays. It’s a powerful effect that disrupts anything else on those wavelengths.

Space suggests that more solar activity is on the horizon. Another unstable sunspot region known as sunspot AR3576 is coming into view. NOAA suggests an elevated probability of M-class and possibly X-class flare activity in the next few days.