On Thursday, October 3, the Sun experienced the most powerful flare in the last few years. It is associated with the spot AR 3842, which previously had incredible activity and is estimated as category X9.0.
The most powerful flare of this solar cycle
On Thursday, October 3 at 12:18 UTC, a flare of category X9.0 occurred on the Sun. Class X are the most powerful events that occur on the surface of our luminary. Astronomers usually observe them several times per year during the maxima of solar activity.
However, X9.0 is a really rare event. This flare is the most powerful one in the current cycle. So far, the strongest one has been the X8.7 class event, which occurred on May 14 of this year. Such powerful explosions are frequently accompanied by tearing off a part of the solar atmosphere, which are called coronal mass ejections.
All this plasma is flying away from the sun at a speed of a few hundred miles per hour, and meeting the Earth on its way, it causes powerful magnetic storms. This time the ejection has occurred too, with initial velocity of 356 mph. So far, only X-ray radiation has been reported to have reached our planet’s atmosphere causing disruption of radio communications over the Atlantic and surrounding regions.
Turbulent spot AR 3842
The source of the super-powerful explosion was the active region AR 3842. This week it has already been very dynamical. On October 2, another powerful flare occurred there, reaching X7.1 class. At that time, it was considered the second strongest in this cycle, and now, accordingly, it is the third.
However, such a situation should not be surprising in general. The current 25th solar cycle has already exceeded astronomers’ expectations. At the end of last year, the maximum solar activity was predicted for the autumn of 2024. So it’s quite possible that this flare is not going to be a record-breaking one either.
According to x.com/NWSSWPC, x.com/_SpaceWeather
