NASA - Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) patch.
February 4, 2014
The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, beginning at 11:57 p.m. EST on Feb. 3, 2014, and peaking at midnight EST. NASA released images of the flare as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Image above: A mid-level solar flare erupted on the sun late on Feb. 3, 2014, peaking at midnight EST. This image, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows the bright flare near the center of the sun. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.
Image above: This image of an M5.2-class solar flare that occurred late on Feb. 3, 2014, was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The solar flare can be seen as the bright flash near the center of the sun. The image shows light in the 304 Angstrom wavelength, which is typically colorized in red. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.
This flare is classified as an M5.2 flare. Updates will be provided as needed.
For more information about Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), visit: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/
Images, Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Karen C. Fox.
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