Strong Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

Strong Solar Flare Erupts from Sun | NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 2:54 a.m. ET on May 10, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured an image of the event. SDO watches the Sun constantly.

Image Description: The bottom right area of the Sun, shown in gold and against a black background. There are loops cascading off the Sun. Toward the middle is a bright white area—the solar flare.

This image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. It is colorized in gold.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X3.9 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. 

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Release Date: May 10, 2024

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