NASA shows a video of a particularly powerful solar flare

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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft recorded an extremely powerful solar flare on March 3. The burst of high-energy radiation is classified as X2.1, according to the U.S. space agency. X is the strongest class of solar flare. The higher the number, the stronger the eruption.

The SDO, which NASA launched into Earth orbit about 11 years ago to study solar activity, filmed the event. The radiation released came from a solar region called AR 3234.

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on March 3, 2023, peaking at 12:52 ET. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the event, which was classified as X2.1. https://t.co/2bkwGSlVp4 pic.twitter.com/EcOxPpVNzu
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 3, 2023

Failure of shortwave radio signals
During an X-class eruption, there can be prolonged and widespread communication outages. Satellites may also be damaged or destroyed – blackouts are also possible, especially since power grids are susceptible to this disruption.

The electromagnetic radiation released on March 3 caused brief outages of shortwave radio signals in North and South America, according to SpaceWeather.com. Frequencies below 30 MHz were thus affected.