As March was drawing to a close, a powerful solar flare exploded from the Sun, causing X-rays and ultraviolet radiation to rocket toward Earth. Peaking at 10:33 p.m. Eastern Time on March 28, 2023, the flare was of the strongest kind — an X-class flare, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
Traveling at the speed of light, the radiation reached Earth almost immediately, causing ionization in parts of the upper atmosphere on the sunlit side. This, in turn, triggered a blackout of some radio communications for about an hour in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The strongest flares release energy equivalent to millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time, or about one tenth of the total energy emitted by the entire Sun in one second.
Flares typically explode from active regions on the Sun. These areas are laced with strong magnetic fields associated with groups ...
