There was a powerful flare on the Sun, which led to the disconnection of radio communication on Earth
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On July 2, 2023, a giant sunspot exploded, creating a powerful flare that hit Earth’s atmosphere and caused a radio blackout in parts of the United States and the Pacific Ocean. This is reported by Space. The solar flare originated from sunspot AR3354, which is 7 times the width of Earth. The flare was classified by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory as a bright ultraviolet X-flare, the strongest known. Sunspots on the surface of the sun on July 3, 2023. Image: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory Radiation from the flare ionized Earth’s upper atmosphere, resulting in a deep shortwave radio blackout over the western US and Pacific Ocean that lasted about 30 minutes. Solar flares occur when the magnetic fields around sunspots become entangled, torn apart, and then reconnected. This process is called reconnection. Flashes are grouped according to their strength. The smallest are called B-flares, followed by C-flares, and then M-flares. Image of the sun on July 2, 2023, showing a powerful solar flare The most powerful class of solar flares are X-ray flares. Classes of solar flares increase in magnitude, roughly the same as earthquakes on the Richter scale. A hole in the Sun and a powerful X1.2 solar flare threaten space weather. Such long-lasting outbursts are sometimes accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), events in which magnetic fields eject vast amounts of stellar material in the form of plasma ejected from the Sun. Although the X-flare on July 2 was long enough to trigger a CME, solar observatories have yet to observe significant plasma ejection associated with the flare. Read also: You can see a large spot on the Sun without a telescope: how to do it safely
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