A huge solar flare could disrupt satellite communications: Indian space scientists
According to the Center of Excellence for Space Sciences of India (CESSI), the sun has today produced a large solar flare that could disrupt satellite communications and global positioning systems.
"The X2.2-class solar flare occurred at 03:57 UTC (9.27 IST) from the solar magnetic active region AR12992," said Dibyendu Nandi, associate professor and CESSI coordinator at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research of India. Calcutta.
Solar flares are tremendous bursts of energy that can disrupt radio communications, power grids, and navigation signals, as well as endanger spacecraft and astronauts.
This eruption is class X, which denotes the most intense eruptions, while the number indicates its strength.
"A strong ionospheric disturbance is occurring over India, Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions. High-frequency communications blackouts, satellite anomalies, GPS scintillation and impacts to airline communications are expected." ", said CESSI on Twitter.
X-class solar flares are the sun's most powerful storms. Class A solar flares are the weakest; class B and C storms are similarly minor. When pointed directly at Earth, the most intense storms of class M and above can supercharge the northern lights, while the strongest storms of class X can pose a threat to orbiting satellites and astronauts.
The sun's 11-year solar climate cycle is currently entering a more active phase (the current cycle is known as Solar Cycle 25 and began in 2019).
NASA's Solar Dynamics Orbiter, NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and other solar scientists maintain space weather monitoring from the sun through a series of spacecraft.