2023 Ends With Strongest ‘X Class’ Solar Flare For Six Years—Get Ready For Aurora

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash ... [+] on the far left – on Dec. 31, 2023. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares, which is colorized in yellow and orange. A massive X5 class solar flare was detected by Earth orbiting satellites just hours before 2024 began, the most potent eruption the sun has produced since 2017.

Its aftermath looks set to cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth on January 2, which could mean displays of the northern lights (also called aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere. Solar Flare According to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center , it peaked at 21:55 UTC (4:55 p.m. EST) on December 31, shortly after NASA declared on social media that 2023’s most significant flare was an X2.8 flare on December 14.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory detected it. Strong solar flares known as X class flares can have a big impact on our planet. They can mess with Earth's magnetic field and cause problems with things like satellites, communication equipment, and even power grids. They can also be dangerous for astronauts who are orbiting the planet.

Solar Eruptions A solar flare is an eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the sun’s atmosphere. They’re caused by twisted magnetic fields, typically above sunspots—cooler, darker regions of the sun’s surface that form when clumps of its magnetic field well up from deep within the sun. They are graded according to their severity, with B class, followed by C, M and X, according to NASA .

It works similarly to the Richter scale for earthquakes, with each letter representing a ten fold increase in energy output. Solar Cycle The X5 flare was the strongest of Solar Cycle 25, which began in 2019 and is due to peak soon. The X5 flare is the strongest since September 10, 2017 when an X8.2 flare occurred, according to the SWPC.

In late October, experts predicted that the new window for solar maximum—the point at which the sun’s magnetic activity is most potent—will be between January and October 2024. The sun has an 11 year cycle during which its magnetic activity waxes and wanes. Solar Activity Sunspot AR3536 that produced the X5 solar flare —and also the X2.8 flare on December 14—is huge, and is turning toward Earth.

Radiation from the solar flare caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Pacific Ocean, according to SpaceWeather . Sunspots are caused by, and indicative of, changes in magnetic activity on the sun’s surface. A spike in sunspots tends to correlate with the sun being more active and emitting more radiation.

The SWPC predicts a maximum sunspot number of 137 to 173 in the month of the solar maximum, whenever that occurs. An X5.0 flare (R3 Strong Radio Blackout) from NOAA/SWPC Region 3536 occurred at 31/2155 UTC. Northern Lights Incoming While solar flares travel towards Earth at the speed of light, what happens in their aftermath can take days to have an effect.

The sunpot that cuased the X5 class solar flare also triggered a coronal mass ejection—a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona—which can take a couple of days to reach Earth. When a CME arrives at Earth on the solar wind it can cause geomagnetic storms, during which Earth’s magnetosphere accelerates the charged particles down its field lines to the poles, which can be seen as northern lights (aurora borealis) in the northern nehipshere.

According to NASA , a geomagnetic storm could occur on January 2. Aurora Forecast If you want to see the beautiful aurora lights, the best places to go are the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. However, during a strong magnetic storm, the area where the auroras can be seen becomes larger. This means that sometimes people who live in places where auroras are not usually visible, such as the U.S.

and Western Europe, can see them. As the sun waxes to solar maximum, expect more frequent and intense solar flares, CMEs and geomagnetic storms to cause more frquent and spectactular displays of aurora visible from more southerley latitudes. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes..