In the last two weeks, the Sun has released five moderate to strong solar flares and on April 30, US space agency NASA managed to capture an image of a solar flare using its Solar Dynamics Observatory.
A solar flare is a sudden release of magnetic energy. It can be seen on the upper right part of the image.
"The Sun emits solar flares occasionally, though they don’t always impact humans on Earth," NASA stated in its Instagram post.
But, of the five solar flares since April 19, three were classified as strong.
If directed towards Earth, solar flares can be harmful. Strong flares can impact power grids, radio communications, navigational systems, and pose a potential risk to spacecraft and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the space agency added.
Read more: Watch: Stunning video of Sun, recorded over 12 years
"NASA missions study flares to help us prepare for and better mitigate their impact," the Instagram post stated.
Last month, a geomagnetic storm hit the planet as activity on the sun significantly ramped up leading to an explosion of a dead sunspot on April 11. Massive amounts of solar material was ejected towards the Earth. The storm, however, was classified as “G2 class” meaning the impact was not going to be damaging.
Geomagnetic storms also produce beautiful natural lights auroras that can be seen farther down south in mid-latitude areas in cities like New York, weather agencies and scientists have predicted.
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