Solar Flare News

Eleven years ago this week, one of the worst storms on record raged on the sun, churning huge amounts of plasma around the solar surface and spewing massive loads of particles into space and toward Earth.

NOT A CARRINGTON EVENT, HAPPILY: Giant Solar Flare Sideswipes Earth. Of course, if it had been, you wouldn't be reading this now.

Charting the impending doom is an international space station crew whose shielding protects them from the flare's radiation. Byrne, in the opening issue, cuts between the station and a series of brief vignettes that will likely pay off in the future: a distraught Madam President who grimly jokes that her opponents had always claimed she'd preside "over the end of civilization," a callous Pope fleeing the Vatican, the faceless crew of a submarine, inmates in a maximum security Texas prison.

Swinging around the Sun's eastern limb last Monday was a group of sunspots labeled active region AR1748.

While the planet was not hit with radiation, space weather forecasters say the solar blast briefly disrupted high-frequency radio signals.

As we mentioned in the blog Thursday , there's a particularly active sunspot on the sun right now.

Flight engineers on the International Space Station , including U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy , completed a 5.5-hour spacewalk on May 11 to repair a leaky coolant pump.

This week has seen the most active solar flares in this sun cycle, which began in 2008 and will last until 2019.

Solar activity continued on May 14, 2013, as the sun emitted a fourth X-class flare from its upper left limb, peaking at 9:48 p.m. EDT.

The sun has erupted with another X-class solar flare, adding a fourth huge solar explosion to the 48-hour tally.

A fourth solar flare has erupted on the sun. It's the bright spot to the left of this image, which was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Recent solar flares from the sun have increased chances for Northern Lights activity across much of Canada as far south as Traverse City.

The solar flare - a sudden release of radiation - peaked at 1705 BST on Monday, May 13, and was associated with a huge eruption of matter.

The sun has unleashed three strong solar flares since Sunday evening, punctuating a short period of increased solar restlessness that comes as scientists are keeping an eye out for this cycle's solar maximum.

The Sun emitted its strongest solar flare so far this year today, causing a temporary radio blackout - and a bevvy of cameras have captured it.It's gearing up to be a big solar max.

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The solar flare - a sudden release of radiation - peaked at 1705 BST on Monday, and was associated with a huge eruption of matter.

The sun, it seems, is in overdrive. Late Monday night, the sun unleashed its third major solar flare in 24 hours - the biggest and most powerful solar storm of the year, so far.

We will get to enjoy some stellar weather this week. Unseasonably cool temps. will make for some open-the-window type weather through at least midweek.

Members of the media tour Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics and are treated to displays on the Hyperwall and talks by Antti Pulkkinen and David Sibeck at the Space Weather Center.