On Feb. 24, 2014, the sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:49
p.m. EST. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which keeps a constant watch
on the sun, captured images of the event. These SDO images from 7:25 p.m. EST on
Feb. 24 show the first moments of this X-class flare in different wavelengths of
light -- seen as the bright spot that appears on the left limb of the sun. Hot
solar material can be seen hovering above the active region in the sun's
atmosphere, the corona.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, appearing as giant flashes of
light in the SDO images. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through
Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when
intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and
communications signals travel.
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