[Reading Science] Third Powerful Explosion This Year... "The Sun Is Acting Unusually"

Flare of X1.1 Class Occurred on the 11th, Temporary Disruption of Radio Communication in South America

The movement of the sun has been unusual since early 2023. It is showing increasingly active behavior, with the third high-intensity solar flare explosion already occurring.

NASA announced that on the 11th (Eastern Time, USA) at around 10:48 AM, an ultra-high intensity X1.1-class solar flare erupted at point 3217 on the sun's surface. This caused the release of strong magnetic fields and cosmic rays, significantly impacting Earth, including a temporary disruption of radio communications across South America.

On the 11th, a solar flare erupted. Photo by the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)

This high-intensity solar flare explosion is the third this year alone. Solar flares are classified by strength in the order of A, B, C, M, and X classes. On January 5th, an X1.2-class solar flare erupted, and on the 7th of this month, a medium-level M6-class solar flare exploded, temporarily disrupting shortwave communication networks across the Pacific region. Classes A to C have minimal impact, but from class M and above, significant effects occur, such as auroras being observed in Earth's polar regions. The strongest ever recorded was the X28-class flare in 2003. Experts analyze that the sun's surface activity cycles approximately every 11 years, and with the peak expected in 2025, it is currently showing increasingly active behavior.

A flare is a phenomenon where an enormous amount of light and energy temporarily explodes and erupts from the sun's surface. It is usually accompanied by what scientists call a coronal mass ejection (CME). Solar particles and plasma are ejected at ultra-high speeds exceeding 1.6 million km/h, which can paralyze Earth's communication and power systems and, in severe cases, threaten satellites and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This flare explosion was not accompanied by a CME. However, a CME phenomenon was observed due to the eruption of a solar filament in the sun's northern hemisphere. Accordingly, on Valentine's Day, February 14th, spectacular auroras are expected to be widely visible in the skies over the Arctic region.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) deploy satellites, radio telescopes, and probes to monitor the sun's activity 24/7 throughout the year. In particular, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe, and ESA launched the Solar Orbiter, both approaching the sun closely to analyze the components of the solar wind and investigate its structure and atmosphere.

Meanwhile, regarding the increase in solar activity, some people express anxiety by referring to prophecies. Baba Vanga, a Bulgarian prophet who is said to have predicted events such as the 9/11 attacks, foretold that an unprecedented massive solar storm would occur this year, causing a large-scale nuclear power plant explosion similar to the Chernobyl disaster, turning Europe into devastation. Some speculate that the current solar activity might be a precursor to this.