Solar flares today 2014 appear to be growing stronger. According to multiple reports, one of the solar flares today 2014 that erupted from the sun toward Earth are the X-Class kind, which is known to be extreme and the most dangerous kind. The flare hit the Earth yesterday and another one will be hitting the planet today, which could reportedly cause an Aurora Borealis phenomenon.
Yesterday's event ripped through the Sun's lower atmosphere, reports Sky & Telescope. It sent a blast wave directly to the planet Earth which is expected to arrive early Friday morning.
According to the Business Insider, it remains unclear as to what extent one of the solar flares today 2014 will affect power grids, satellites, or radio transmissions on Earth.
Scientists warn that the sun is now near the peak phase of its 11-year activity cycle, also known as Solar Cycle 24. However, the sun has reportedly been inactive during this cycle, whose max phase is the weakest in about 100 years, reports Yahoo! News.
According to solar, the Sun's cycle peaked weakly last year. Though its force is diminishing, yesterday's flare is a reminder that the sun's full force is yet to be shown.
One of the solar flares today 2014 which is an X-class solar flare is known as the most powerful type.
According to Yahoo!, it erupted at 1:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) or 5:45 p.m. GMT yesterday from an Earth-facing sunspot also known as Active Region 2158.
Apparently, the region also fired off another intense solar flare on Tuesday. Both events were reportedly captured on camera via NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in space. The area covered by the blast was many times larger than Earth, reports Sky & Telescope.
The SDO time-lapse images of one of the solar flares today 2014 reportedly recorded X-ray emission at 193 angstroms from highly ionized iron atoms, thus showing the blast wave swelling throughout the sun.
Below is a video from NASA's SDO in space.
Meanwhile, according to Sky & Telescope, AA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said the Wednesday event of the solar flares today 2014 released a shockwave of relativistic particles and X-rays sweeping over the planet in minutes.
Though considered an "extreme" solar flare, NASA officials told Space.com that the Wednesday event of the solar flares today 2014 reportedly poses no danger to humans on Earth or astronauts on board the International Space Station.
Still, some lives may be affected.
Slooh astronomer Bob Berman said in a statement, "What solar experts fear most is a recurrence of the huge Coronal Mass Ejection events of 1921 and 1859."
In 2012, a dangerously strong solar flare reportedly missed the Earth, albeit barely.
The impacts on high-frequency (HF) radio communications are still unknown, but they are possible.
According to NOAA's Space Weather website, "Impacts to HF radio communications on the daylight side of Earth are expected to last for more than an hour."
The Active Region 2158 sunspot group, where the solar flares today 2014 occurred, is reportedly situated close to the center of the sun.
According to Yahoo!, further effects could be felt this week if the sunspot fires another string of extremely hot plasma, also called a coronal mass ejection (CME).
CMEs usually go together with powerful flares. They can also reportedly cause geomagnetic storms around two to three days after hitting Earth. Geomagnetic storms are known to disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids.
Despite these problems, they can also showcase a gorgeous display of the Aurora Borealis also known as the northern and southern lights.
Solar flares, such as the solar flares today 2014, occur in locations of concentrated magnetic fields.
Solar flares today 2014 can now be viewed via live stream here. Enthusiasts can also ask questions from Slooh's astronomers on Twitter, using the hashtag #Sloohflare, during the broadcast, according to the Business Insider. Live stream begins today at 1 p.m. EDT.
For a full list of times to watch around the world, click here.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
