Overview
- NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory logged two powerful eruptions within hours, measured as X2.4 and X2.5.
- The bursts caused temporary high-frequency radio outages across parts of the Pacific, Australia, and East Asia on the sunlit side of Earth.
- Radiation reached Earth in minutes, charging the ionosphere’s D-layer and causing HF signals to be absorbed instead of bouncing long distances.
- NOAA and NASA are checking for any coronal mass ejection that could reach Earth in one to three days and disrupt satellites, GPS, and power systems.
- Despite the X rating, these flares are modest by historical standards and fall well below the record-setting event in November 2003.