SDO Sees Trio of Mid-Level Flares
The sun emitted three mid-level solar flares on July 22-23, 2016, the strongest peaking at 1:16 am EDT on July 23. The sun is currently in a period of low activity, moving toward what's called solar minimum when there are few to no solar eruptions – so these flares were the first large ones observed since April. They are categorized as mid-strength flares, substantially less intense than the most powerful solar flares.
The first was an M5.0, which peaked at 10:11 pm EDT on July 22, 2016.
The second flare -- the strongest -- was an M7.6, which peaked at 1:16 am EDT on July 23.
The final flare was an M5.5, which peaked 15 minutes later at 1:31 am EDT.
Music: Rubicon by Sam Hamilton
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Producer
- Genna Duberstein (USRA)
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Science writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Project support
- Swarupa Nune (InuTeq)
Release date
This page was originally published on Monday, July 25, 2016.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.
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