Punches of the sun dominate skywatchers these days.
Yet another series of solar flares (opens in a new tab) the series emerged from the sun on Friday (August 26) after a dazzling display of green hues auroras (opens in a new tab) crashed into the atmosphere just a few days ago.
“Sunspot AR3089 crackles with a series of stepped-up M-classes [moderate] solar flares”, SpaceWeather.com (opens in a new tab) said in a Friday update. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a particularly powerful flare at 7:16 a.m. EDT (11:16 GMT) as people in Europe and Africa suffered a brief radio blackout.
A huge ejection of charged particles from the Sun (opens in a new tab)known as a coronal mass ejection, could hit our planet on Monday (August 29) and trigger auroras around the Arctic Circle, according to a statement (opens in a new tab) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (These bright lights occur when charged particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field (opens in a new tab).)
The sun is definitely feeling strong these days as it generates a wave of space weather (opens in a new tab) to announce the start of its 11-year maximum solar cycle (opens in a new tab) of activity.
Related: An overactive sunspot just launched a massive X-class solar flare into space (opens in a new tab)
Swarms of Northern and Southern Lights have been spotted earlier this week (opens in a new tab), notably seen from space by Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency. (The veteran astronaut said it was the most powerful storm in his 300 days in space.)
More space weather (opens in a new tab) in its most dramatic form, provides a great spectacle for people on or near Earth, but a small number of particularly powerful storms can damage power lines, satellites and other vital infrastructure our planet depends on.
The sun is more prone to tantrums when it reaches its peak of activity, as sunspots spread across the surface and magnetic lines twist and snap. If a thunderstorm is directed towards Earth (opens in a new tab)which can create auroras, blackouts and other effects.
Related: The worst solar storms in history (opens in a new tab)
NASA, the European Space Agency, and other space entities monitor solar weather 24/7 to provide the best possible protection for Earth, satellite managers, and astronauts working above. of our planet.
If you’ve captured a great photo of the Northern Lights, let us know! You can email images and comments to Space.com spacephotos@space.com (opens in a new tab). Be sure to let us know your name, where you were observing from and what it was like to see the aurora.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in a new tab). Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) Or on Facebook (opens in a new tab).
Originally posted on Live Science sister site Space.com.