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| The NOAA Solar Ultraviolet Imager captured this image of a solar flare on Dec. 8, with the bright flash on the right side, showing extremely hot material in extreme ultraviolet light, colorized in blue. |
On Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, the Sun emitted a powerful solar flare, reaching its peak at 4:06 a.m. ET. The flare, classified as an X2.2 event, was captured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI), aboard the GOES-East satellite.
Solar flares are sudden bursts of energy, and those classified as X-class are the most intense, with the number indicating the flare’s magnitude. The X2.2 flare is a strong burst of solar radiation, which can disrupt radio communications, navigation systems, electric power grids, and pose significant risks to spacecraft and astronauts in orbit.
Although data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is temporarily unavailable due to flooding at the mission’s data center, NOAA’s SUVI provided the key imagery of the flare. NASA continues to monitor the Sun and space weather conditions using an extensive fleet of spacecraft.
For real-time space weather updates and to understand how solar events like this one might impact Earth, the public can visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center at spaceweather.gov.
NASA and NOAA collaborate to study the Sun’s activity and its effects on Earth’s space environment, providing essential information to protect technology and infrastructure reliant on satellite and communication systems.