The Sun fired 15 powerful flares on December 2915 powerful flares, one of which is of the highest class X, were recorded on the Sun on December 29. This was reported by the Institute of Applied Geophysics (IAG), UNN reports.
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It is noted that the first outbreak occurred on Sunday night. "On December 29, at 1.14 a.m. (Minsk time), an M1.2 flare lasting 19 minutes was registered in the X-ray range in the group of spots 3933 (S09W61)," the statement said.
In addition, 14 more M and X-class flares were registered during the day. According to space weather monitoring, the most powerful at the moment are X1.1 and M7.1.
According to the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Institute of Space Research and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, the class X flare occurred in the area of possible impact on the Earth. "Preliminarily, it is considered likely that mass ejections with moderate magnetic storms will reach the Earth from December 31 to January 1," the report says.
Solar flares are divided into five classes depending on the power of X-rays: A, B, C, M, and X. The minimum class A0.0 corresponds to a radiation power of 10 nW per 1 square meter in Earth's orbit. When moving to the next letter, the power increases tenfold. Flares are usually accompanied by solar plasma emissions, the clouds of which, when they reach the Earth, can provoke magnetic storms.