Categories: MissionsSolar Astronomysun

Sun Unleashes Biggest Flare of the Current Cycle

A M6.6 solar flare peaked at 17:38 UT on Feb. 13, 2011. This is the largest solar flare so fare from this solar cycle based on X-ray irradiance magnitude. Credit: NASA/SDO

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On February 13, 2011, sunspot 1158 let loose the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle, a blast of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded an intense flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation, as seen above, and located in approximately the middle of the Sun’s disk in the image below. The eruption also produced a loud blast of radio waves, and coronagraph data from STEREO-A and SOHO agree that the explosion produced a fast but not particularly bright coronal mass ejection. Spaceweather.com predicts a CME cloud will likely hit Earth’s magnetic field on or about Feb. 15th, and high-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

A M6.6-category flare on Feb. 13. Credit: NASA/SDO

This was an M6.6-category flare. Find out more about the classification of solar flares at this link at Spaceweather.com

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Another view from SDO of the flare. Credit: NASA/SDO

A look at sunspot 1158 as of Feb. 14, 2011. This is the source of the recent activity on the Sun. Credit: NASA/SDO

Jason Major from Lights in the Dark created the video below of magnetic activity around a sunspot 1158, from data region from SDO spacecraft, during February 12-13, 2011.

Keep tabs on the Sun by visiting the SDO website, which shows the current Sun in several different wavelengths.

Sources: SDO, Spaceweather.com

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/