Mid-level Solar Flare Erupts from Sun on March 31, 2022

  • Released Friday, April 1, 2022
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This is a close-up image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of today’s solar flare. The image shows a a blend of 131 and 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

This is a close-up image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of today’s solar flare. The image shows a a blend of 131 and 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

The Sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on March 31, 2022, peaking at 2:35 p.m. EDT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured imagery of the event.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an M-Class flare. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. The number provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc. More info on how flares are classified can be found here.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– on March 31, 2022. The image shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– on March 31, 2022. The image shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this sequence of images of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– on March 31, 2022. The imagery shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this sequence of images of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– on March 31, 2022. The imagery shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– at approximately 2:46pm EDT on March 31, 2022. The image shows 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the loops and structure in the lower corona, the Sun's atmosphere.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– at approximately 2:46pm EDT on March 31, 2022. The image shows 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the loops and structure in the lower corona, the Sun's atmosphere.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– at approximately 2:46pm EDT on March 31, 2022. The image shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– at approximately 2:46pm EDT on March 31, 2022. The image shows 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

For More Information

See https://blogs.nasa.gov/solarcycle25/2022/03/31/mid-level-solar-flare-erupts-from-sun/

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.

This page was originally published on Friday, April 1, 2022.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 11:44 AM EDT.

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