Powerful solar flare causes North American blackouts
The sun's been extra active lately, sending out powerful solar flares that have caused radio blackouts across North America and even sparked some auroras.
On June 15, a strong M8.46-class flare from sunspot AR 4114 hit, followed by more flares—including an X1.2-class one on June 17.
Here's what's going on and why it matters.
What are solar flares?
Solar flares are sudden bursts of energy from the sun, triggered by magnetic activity around sunspots.
They're ranked by strength—X-class are the strongest, then M, C, B, and A.
These bursts can last minutes to hours and shake up Earth's upper atmosphere.
How they affect us on Earth
Solar flares can mess with radio signals used for aviation and emergency services, and even throw off GPS accuracy or satellite connections.
NOAA typically issues alerts for such space weather events.
CMEs can also trigger auroras
Sometimes solar flares come with coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—huge clouds of plasma that take hours or days to reach us.
When they do, they can trigger geomagnetic storms that light up the sky with auroras in northern regions.
The June 15 flare came with a CME expected to arrive around June 18.
What's next?
If a geomagnetic storm hits, folks in northern US states might spot glowing auroras—just look for clear dark skies!
For updates or forecasts on solar activity and where to see the lights next, it's a good idea to check NOAA's real-time alerts while AR 4114 keeps facing Earth.