NASA, through its unmanned probe Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO, recorded last Friday (3) a powerful solar eruption of class X2.1 —that is, the most powerful classification, considering that the scale goes from C and M to X. The event was recorded at 2:52 pm Brasilia time.
Images of the impressive event can be seen in the video below, released by Space.com, from what was recorded by the probe that has been in space since 2010. In addition to the images, the radiation from the explosion, which came from a sunspot called AR 3234, caused at that time a shortwave radio blackout in North and South America, according to SpaceWeather.com.
“Aviators and amateur radio operators may have noticed signal loss and other unusual propagation effects at frequencies below 30 MHz for up to an hour following the outbreak,” reported the portal.
Explosions of this type are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections, phenomena that send huge clouds of solar plasma at millions of kilometers per hour into space. These clouds can generate geomagnetic storms on Earth and affect power grids and orbiting spacecraft.
The eruption comes at a time when the sun has been very active, triggering a series of strong eruptions and coronal mass ejections. These storms also enhanced our auroras, also producing another series of stunning images.
