"The image shows subsets of extreme ultraviolet light that highlight the extremely hot material in flares and which are colorized in red and gold," the space agency said. Solar flares are categorized into classes with X-class flares being the most intense.

The Sun unleashed a powerful X9.0 solar flare, the most intense in over 7 years. On October 3, 2024, the Sun emitted an exceptionally powerful X9.0 solar flare, peaking at 8:18 a.m. ET. This event, captured vividly by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory,

The sun has unleashed the most powerful solar flare since 2017, just days after it spat out another monster explosion. Both outbursts have launched solar storms that will likely hit Earth this weekend and trigger vibrant aurora displays.

Authorities predict that states as far south as Oregon and Illinois will be able to see auroras between now and Oct. 6

Solar flares are a fascinating thing and have a profound effect on what astronomers refer to as "space weather." These events vary with the sun's 11-year solar cycle, releasing immense amounts of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum (from extreme ultraviolet to X-rays) into space.

A solar flare erupted from a sunspot Tuesday night and is now considered the second strongest of the current solar cycle.

It was one of the most spectacular cosmic events of the recent times on Thursday, October 3 when Sunspot AR3842 exploded, producing the strongest solar flare in seven years, reports SpaceWeather. The phenomenon produced the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 so far.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the most powerful solar flare emitted by the sun since 2017, according to Space.com, on Thursday 3.Footage released by NASA shows imagery of the event, which was classed as an X9.