Last hebdomad , the Sun releasedthe warm flare yetof this cycle and the warm in six years . It was an go 2.8 socio-economic class flare , the strongest recorded since September 10 , 2017 , and about 5 to 10 percent of the strongest on record from November 2003 . The Sun is approach its maximum activity for its current solar cycle , Cycle 25 . And we will be find a lot more energetic outcome from here on out .
Solar flare can create radiocommunication blackouts . The flares resign muscular lighting in the descriptor of decade - ray and ultraviolet light that ionizes deeper , denser layers of the ionosphere around our planet . The light strips atoms in the standard pressure of electrons , conduct to wireless waves losing a lot more energy with all those devoid electrons around . The visible light from the recent flares reached Earth just eight minutes after the liberation on December 14 , at 5:02 pm UTC .
The portion of our major planet facing the Sun at that time was across the Americas . The burden were strongest in South America , but there were story ofradio communication interferenceover the United States . From the US , Thomas Ashcraftwas able-bodied to record it from theHeliotown Observatory .
“ This audio specimen was recorded December 14 , 2023 , at [ 5.05 pm ] UT during the onrush of an X 2.8 solar flare pass . It exhibits what are known as Type II solar emission , also have a go at it as ' slow drift bursts ' . The audio was show using two separate shortwave radios , one tune up to 22.2 megacycle [ megahertz ] and the other tuned to 21.1 megahertz . If you mind close , preferably with headphone , you will be capable to hear the emissions slow drift down in relative frequency , first overstep through 22 Mc and then 21 MHz , ” Ashcraft told IFLScience .
During a Type II solar discharge , its radio frequency slip , moving from high frequencies to downhearted frequencies of around 1 MHz per indorsement , and it exhibits two band of expelling . The recent sinewy flair was preceded by a debile M - class one originating from the same sunspot . It did not stimulate a memory loss , but there was moderate hitch across the sunstruck portion of the Earth , which at that period was Europe , Africa , and parting of Asia .
A solar cycle lasts 11 year , going from a minimum of activity to a maximum . Thecurrent cycleis expected to top out between January and October of 2024 , so more flares , moreaurorae , and more blackouts are to be carry .
