M-Class Solar Flare: A C8.3 Solar Flare took place near the western limb at 01:13 UTC Sunday morning. This was followed by a C9.0 Flare at 04:53 UTC and a stronger M3.2 at 11:45 UTC. All flares were centered around new Sunspot 1286. Because of its location, any further activity around this region may not be earth directed.
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Solar flares are tremendous explosions on the surface of the Sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT. They occur near sunspots, usually along the dividing line (neutral line) between areas of oppositely directed magnetic fields.
Flares release energy in many forms - electro-magnetic (Gamma rays and X-rays), energetic particles (protons and electrons), and mass flows. Flares are characterized by their brightness in X-rays (X-Ray flux). The biggest flares are X-Class flares. M-Class flares have a tenth the energy and C-Class flares have a tenth of the X-ray flux seen in M-Class flares. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monitors the X-Ray flux from the Sun with detectors on some of its satellites
Source / Credit: NASA
