The Sun is Producing Strong Solar Flares; Are There More Than Expected During This Solar Cycle?
upstart writes:
The sun is producing strong solar flares, creating blackouts. What to know:
A recent period of strong solar flares is expected to gradually decline over the coming weeks and months, scientists say, along with the potential for brief communication blackouts as the sun's solar cycle begins to fade.
The most powerful eruption of 2025 so far was observed last week by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The flare, classified as an X2.7, caused a 10-minute period of "degraded communications" for high-frequency radio systems in the Middle East, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
"We are at solar maximum, so there can be periods of more activity," a spokesperson for the Space Weather Prediction Center told Global News in an email.
The spokesperson added that the active region last week's flare emanated from, however, "has weakened magnetically, and even though it remains capable of producing a notable event, it seems less likely at this time."
[...] The 10-minute blackout in the Middle East occurred because that part of the Earth was facing the sun at the time.
However, because the active region was still somewhat off to the side, a related coronal mass ejection - which produces plasma and magnetic energy from the sun's corona - did not impact Earth.
Taylor Cameron, a space weather forecaster at the Canadian Hazards Information Service, told Global News it's difficult to predict specifically when a solar flare can erupt and which part of Earth it can affect.
The sun is currently at the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, known as solar maximum.
Although activity is generally declining, the Space Weather Prediction Center spokesperson told Global News that "sunspot activity and solar event expectations remain elevated this year and perhaps even into 2026."
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