New Delhi: An X3.3 solar flare erupted from the cluster of sunspots designated as active region (AR) 3869 on 24 October. X-class solar flares are the strongest category, with the X3.3 being the seventh X-class solar flare to erupt from the Sun in the month of October. The active region, AR 3869 had just rotated into view from the far side of the Sun when it fired off the solar flare. The solar flare peaked at 03:57 hours UTC or 9:27 hours ITC. The eruption caused a brief interruption to radio communications on the sunlit side of the Earth. While such a magnitude of solar eruptions are infrequent, there is no cause for concern among the general public.
The solar flare was associated with a fast halo coronal mass ejection (CME), where hot gas or plasma from the atmosphere of the Sun was violently hurled into space at speeds of around 1300 kilometres per second. This plasma travels slower than the light from the solar flare, and is expected to strike a glancing blow to the Earth on 26 October, after travelling through interplanetary space. The bulk of the plasma is expected to miss the Earth though, which scientists still modelling the coronal mass ejection to determine the impact on the planet.
Space Weather Forecast
According to the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the CME is not expected to strike the Earth at all, but there are several filaments and prominences along the disc of the Sun that are being monitored for lift-offs. According to the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre, the active region that fired off the X-class flare is a repeat offender that has returned, “The flare originated from a cluster of sunspots on the eastern limb that are coming into view, likely from ex-region AR3842 that had a history of producing X-class flares.” The British Geological Survey has indicated the chances of a G1 or minor geomagnetic storm because of a glancing blow from the CME.
