Solar Flares: Threats and Impacts on Earth

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a powerful X1.0 solar flare emitted by the sun, causing radio blackouts on Earth. The flare, which erupted from a sunspot seven times the width of Earth, disrupted radio signals and ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a 30-minute deep shortwave radio blackout over western parts of the U.S. and the Pacific Ocean. Solar flares are formed when magnetic fields around sunspots become tangled and reconnect, and recent solar activity has been increasing, potentially impacting radio and internet communications as well as satellite and radio navigation systems.