A massive solar flare, the biggest of the year so far, erupted on the sun in the evening on Monday.
The solar flare is an impressive X4.9-class, reports Space.com and originated in the sunspot AR1990. The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the bright flare.
X-class solar flares are known to be quite strong and could have created a nasty geomagnetic storm if it had been directed at the Earth. These solar flares could also hurt satellites orbiting the Earth.
This solar flare posed no harm to Earth as it is located on the southeastern portion of the sun facing away, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, adds the International Business Times.
NOAA did note in a Facebook post that the coronal mass ejection did cause a strong radio blackout though.
The sunspot, while now called AR1990, was previously called the AR1967, but the name is changed upon each time it faces the Earth, which it is set to do beginning next week. The active sunspot has continually grown is now wider than Jupiter.
Tony Phillips on Spaceweather.com wrote, "This is the strongest flare of the year so far and one of the strongest of the current solar cycle."
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