Four X-class solar explosions arose from the sun on Feb. 1-2. These images of the eruptions were taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. (Image credit: NASA/SDO)Share by:
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A massive sunspot is targeting Earth after emitting many potent flares Sunday and Monday (Feb. 1-2) — featuring the most powerful solar burst in recent years.
Heightened geomagnetic activity — potentially producing vivid auroras at latitudes lower than normal — might occur Thursday (Feb. 5), according to a notice from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). However, definite confirmation is pending.
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This wave of activity achieved its highest intensity Sunday around 6:57 pm EST, as the sunspot unleashed a formidable X8.1 solar flare, as indicated by the SWPC. This represented the most powerful individual solar flare since October 2024, when the sun unleashed an X9.0 eruption.
The recent X-class flare swiftly caused partial radio disruptions across the South Pacific, according to Spaceweather.com, and propelled a slower-moving discharge of plasma referred to as a coronal mass ejection (CME) in the direction of Earth. The SWPC anticipates that this CME will narrowly bypass Earth upon its arrival on Feb. 5, although a tangential impact remains a possibility.
Should the CME graze our planet, charged solar particles will accelerate towards Earth’s magnetic poles, leading to spectacular auroras.
The sun “wakes up”
NOAA issued this warning after the flare’s outburst.
Sunspots constitute extensive, shadowy zones of magnetic instability originating within the sun’s lower atmosphere. Should magnetic-field lines nearby these zones become excessively entangled, they might suddenly realign, thereby initiating solar flares and CMEs.
Sunspot activity culminates every 11 years, concurrent with the sun’s magnetic poles shifting positions during an interval termed solar maximum. The frequency and strength of solar flares and CMEs likewise reach their apex during this volatile phase.
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During 2024, NASA affirmed that solar maximum was effectively in progress, suggesting intense space weather could remain prevalent through 2026. This might give rise to exceptionally uncommon and extensive auroral displays, analogous to those witnessed in May 2024, as a massive CME propelled the northern lights as far south as Florida. The sunspot responsible for that occurrence lingered on the sun for in excess of three months, discharging almost 1,000 solar flares across its lifespan, according to a recent study.
Powerful solar radiation storms could also incur detrimental consequences, like radio blackouts, GPS disturbances, and harm to satellites and spacecraft.
The most potent solar flare of 2025 was an X5.1-class explosion documented in November. Sunspot 4366 has already surpassed it — but it is yet to be determined whether it will manage to outdo its own precedent.
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Brandon SpecktorSocial Links NavigationEditor
Brandon serves as the space / physics editor at Live Science. Boasting over 20 years of editorial involvement, his writings have featured in The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website, plus other outlets. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in creative writing obtained from the University of Arizona, accompanied by minors in journalism and media arts. His interests encompass black holes, asteroids and comets, alongside the quest for extraterrestrial life.
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