The Sun Fires Another Powerful X-Flare, Causing Radio Blackouts Across America (Video)

Sunspot AR 3842 remains active as it leaves the sun’s western limb and triggers a solar flare of magnitude X2.1 on Monday afternoon (October 7).

The Sunspotwhich also unleashed the historical X9.05 Solar Flare Last Thursday (October 3) – the strongest flare in seven years – the X2.1 triggered at 3:13 p.m. EDT (1913 GMT) on Monday.

Solar flares are classified on a four-point scalefrom the B class with the least power to the X class at the top. The most intense burst of solar energy ever recorded was estimated to have come from a solar flare in 2003 an X45!

Monday’s strong X2.1 is not as strong as this record-breaking outbreak Solar flare produced a significant amount of ultraviolet radiation, causing shortwave radio blackouts in both North and South America and over the Pacific Ocean.