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Strong solar flare sent blasting from sun causing limited radio blackouts

By
Emilee Speck, FOX Weather
Published March 11, 2024, 1:42 p.m. ET

The sun started Sunday with a wild display, producing a strong M-Class flare and potentially causing radio blackouts.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction (SWPC) office said an impulsive M7.4 X-ray flare peaked at 8:13 a.m. EDT on Sunday.

The flare was classified as an M7.4 flare. M is the second-most-intense type of flare, and the number reflects its strength.

The Solar Ultraviolet Imager instrument on NOAA’s GOES East satellite captured the solar flare in the animation below shared by NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Powerful solar flares can cause high-frequency radio blackouts and pose risks to space launches and spacecraft orbiting Earth.

However, most people do not need to be concerned as these energetic particles do not reach low enough into Earth’s atmosphere to affect the public. 

Due to the intensity of the flare, the SWPC is predicting moderate (level 2 out of 5) high-frequency radio blackouts.

According to the SWPC Radio Communication Dashboard, parts of North and South America, including Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela, could have experienced degraded frequencies after the space weather event.

The Sun produced a strong solar flare on Sunday that potentially caused radio blackouts.
The sun produced a strong solar flare on Sunday that potentially caused radio blackouts. UW-Madison CIMSS/NOAA
Sunspots seen in the 3599 region of the Sun in an image taken on March 10, 2024.
Sunspots seen in the 3599 region of the sun in an image taken on March 10, 2024. NASA

These blackouts can last “tens of minutes,” according to the SWPC.

Solar flares typically take place in active regions of the sun and are often associated with sunspot groups.

The region where Sunday’s solar flare originated is known as Active Region 3599.

There is a cluster of sunspots in the same region of the sun, which is visible on NASA’s Solar and Heliophysics Observatory (SOHO) imagery.

NASA released the solar activity for the week on Sunday, as seen by its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft.

SDO didn’t record any flares this past week before the solar flare on Sunday.