Last week, the sun unleashed a torrent of energy, sending the largest solar flare since 2017 toward our planet. The flare, which was classified as X2.8, is the largest recorded since September 2017, more than six years ago. As the sun's cycle continues to peak, solar flares more intense than this one are likely to be released.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, the flare peaked at 1702 UTC on December 14. The energy hit Earth a couple of days later, creating severe radio blackouts on the illuminated side of the planet. The largest solar flare previously recorded from 2017 was also an X8.2 and caused similar radio problems.
Considering the current cycle the sun follows, it's not so surprising that we just saw the largest solar flare since 2017. The sun is expected to reach its solar maximum over the next two years, meaning that solar activity such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are expected to continue to increase in intensity.
The solar flare originated from a sunspot known as AR 3514. It was so powerful that Tierra.com Reports were that fluctuations in the power grid were likely and that spacecraft in low Earth orbit could possibly have suffered from irregularities and communication problems. The full extent of the blackouts' effects is still unclear.
Class X solar flares like this are the highest intensity ones for which we currently have a categorization. As such, having an X8.2 solar flare passing through our planet's magnetosphere causes auroras and other solar flare-related events to occur, including the aforementioned blackouts. Fortunately, we can detect these large, powerful solar flares using space telescopes, allowing us to account for any potential problems they may cause to our radio and communications systems.
