October 4, 2014

Karen C. Fox, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 3:01 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2, 2014. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun 24-hours a day, captured images of the flare. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earths 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.

[ Watch the Video: Twisting Solar Eruption And Flare ]

To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. governments official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

This flare is classified as an M7.3 flare. M-class flares are one-tenth as powerful as the most powerful flares, which are designated X-class flares.

Updates will be provided as needed.

What is a solar flare?

For answers to this and other space weather questions, please visit the Spaceweather Frequently Asked Questions page.

Related Link

Read the original here:

NASA Releases Images Of A New Mid-Level Solar Flare