Tuesday 14 May 2013

Largest CME of the year

Flare The flare on 13 May comes as the Sun is approaching "solar maximum"

The Sun has unleashed its most powerful eruption of 2013 so far.

The solar flare - a sudden release of radiation - peaked at 1705 BST on Monday, and was associated with a huge eruption of matter.

When these eruptions reach Earth, they can interfere with electronic systems in satellites and those on the ground.

Nasa said this solar explosion - known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) - was not directed at Earth, but it could pass several US spacecraft.

The event on Monday was classified as an "X-class" flare - the most intense type - with a designation of X2.8 (higher numbers denote a stronger flare). It surpassed an X1.7-class flare that occurred 14 hours earlier.

CME, May 13
 

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