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NASA said a “significant solar flare” erupted from the sun on Thursday, October 28, that could have an impact on Earth – 93 million miles away. The flare issued a coronal mass ejection (CME), a large eruption of charged particles.
The eruption is expected to supercharge Earth’s northern lights meaning the iconic display will be seen as far south as Scotland and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Analysis indicated the CME departed The Sun at a speed of 604 mph and is forecast to impact earth later on Saturday or on Sunday, October 31.
However, some eruptions can send charged particles out from the sun up to 1 million mph.
The flare has already caused a strong radio blackout across the sunlit side of South America, according to the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
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Solar storm warning: Get ready! NASA forecasts ‘significant’ flare
It is an X1-class solar flare, one of the most powerful eruptions of radiation from The Sun.
Flares are classified in a letter system, with C-class storms being relatively weak, M-class more moderate and X-class flares as the strongest.
Explaining the classification, NASA officials added in a statement: “X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
“An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
“Flares that are classified X10 or stronger are considered unusually intense.”
NASA also took to Twitter, adding: “POW! The Sun just served up a powerful flare.”
The solar flare originated from a sunspot called AR2887 which is currently positioned in the centre of The Sun and facing the Earth.
The sunspot was also responsible for two moderate M-class solar flares earlier in the day, according to SpaceWeather.com.
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