A Significant Flare Surges Off the Sun

Two coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, also exploded off the sun from the same active region as the Sept. 10, X-class flare. Images of the CMEs were captured by the joint European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory. Scientists use observations like these to determine the speed, strength, and size of CMEs.

The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1:48 p.m. EDT on Sept. 10, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. 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.


This flare is classified as an X1.6 class flare. "X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.