Sun solar flares light up space weather alerts worldwide

Sun solar flares disrupted parts of Earth this week after a highly active sunspot unleashed the strongest eruptions seen so far this year, according to NASA and US space weather officials.

Between February 1 and February 2, a rapidly growing sunspot known as region 4366 released at least four powerful X class solar flares in just over 24 hours, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory reported.

X class flares are the most intense category of solar eruptions.

As NASA explains: “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.”

The most intense event, an X8.1 flare that erupted the evening of February 1, was the brightest solar flare recorded since October 2024.

SpaceWeatherLive.com ranks it among the top 20 strongest flares since 1996.

The burst sent extreme ultraviolet and X ray radiation toward Earth, ionizing the upper atmosphere and triggering strong R3 radio blackouts across parts of the South Pacific.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center confirmed shortwave radio disruptions in eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Scientists say the activity is being driven by sunspot region 4366, which has rapidly expanded and produced more than 20 flares in a single day.

Spaceweather.com described the region as “highly unstable,” with additional eruptions possible as it rotates into a more Earth facing position.

The eruptions also launched a coronal mass ejection toward Earth.

NOAA forecasters say the plasma cloud could pass near Earth around February 5, potentially sparking auroras at lower latitudes.

However, NOAA cautioned that “it is too early to know whether conditions will be favorable, as much depends on the CME’s speed, direction and magnetic orientation.”