Solar flares are expected to become increasingly frequent by 2025. One such phenomenon occurred in early 2023. The flare is among the most intense the star can produce.
The Sun has just emitted a very intense eruption at the start of 2023. The powerful gust was emitted on the night of January 5 to 6, around 1:57 a.m. (metropolitan France time). This incredible spectacle could have been observedthanks to the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a NASA satellite.
The event is categorized as a class X solar flare. There are 3 categories, ranked according to the brightness of the flares in the X-ray domain: X, for the most powerful; M, for medium; and C, for the weakest. As the summary the European Space Agency (ESA), X-class flares are major events that can trigger worldwide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere.”
However, NASA is keen to to reassure on the consequences of solar flares for humans on Earth: Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground “. On the other hand, these events potentially represent a risk for astronauts on a mission in space. The most intense solar flares can also disrupt GPS and communication signals.
More frequent solar flares by 2025: why?
We can expect to see more intense solar flares like the one that occurred in early January 2023. A new solar cycle has begun in 2020: the surface of the star varies periodically, with a maximum of activity reached every 11 years. The next maximum of solar activity is expected in 2025. This means that the activity of the Sun is gradually increasing. Intense gusts should therefore be increasingly frequent over the next few years.
Solar flares should not be confused with sunspots. While flares take the form of very bright areas, which can persist, spots are on the contrary areas appearing darker on the Sun. This comes from the fact that these are colder places than the rest of the surface of the star.
