The Sun is going absolutely wild at the moment, all as scientists predict its solar maximum could occur in just a few weeks. On December 14th, our system’s central star let out a whopper of an X-class flare, its most powerful kind and a solar storm might now be headed our way.
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00:00 The Sun is going absolutely wild at the moment.
00:06 All as scientists predicted solar maximum could occur in just a few weeks.
00:10 And on December 14th, our system's central star let out a whopper of an X-class flare,
00:15 its most powerful kind.
00:17 The event was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, and this is the moment the X2.8
00:22 solar flare lit up the Sun's surface.
00:24 Experts say it was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection as well, sending billions of
00:28 tons of plasma out into space.
00:31 And this particular event actually had some rather enduring effects on Earth as well.
00:35 Science Alert reports that South America experienced a two-hour high-frequency radio blackout.
00:40 Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says we might be in for a mid-grade
00:45 geomagnetic storm that will likely occur on December 17th.
00:48 But scientists don't yet know whether it will be a glancing or direct hit on our planet.
00:53 Experts say this was the most powerful flare type detected during the solar cycle so far,
00:57 one that is expected to end soon.
00:59 When it does, the Sun's magnetic poles will flip, and its 11-year cycle will begin again.
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