The biggest solar flare of the year went off just in time for Cinco de Mayo and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managed to capture it on video.
According to Gizmodo, images of the event were captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which was launched back in 2010 and has since been used by researchers to study the Sun.
The images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on May 5 at 6:11 PM EDT, show the different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light which were released by the solar flare. Changes in these wavelengths have revealed different temperatures.
In the images released by NASA, the different wavelengths were colorized in order to better make the distinction from one wavelength to another. The images show wavelengths of visible light, 171 angstroms, 304 angstroms, 193 angstroms and 131 angstroms.
NASA describes solar flares as brief, rapid bursts of high-energy radiation emitted by the sun. They occur when magnetic energy accumulated in the solar atmosphere suddenly escapes with the power of 10 million volcanic eruptions.
Intense solar flares are classified as X-class, the number attached to the ‘X’ provides more information about its strength with an X2 being twice as intense as an X1, and an X3 being three times as intense and so on.
According to the International Business Times, NASA reported that the Cinco de Mayo flare to have been classified as an X2.7— powerful enough to temporarily knock out radio communications in the Pacific Rergion.
Despite the Cinco de Mayo flare’s intensity, NASA has assured the public that the flare was not harmful.
NASA’s statement read:
Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through the 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 communication signals travel.
In other NASA coverage here at Immortal News, the space agency has made warp drive a reality.
What are your thoughts on this epic solar flare video?
