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| NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – seen as the bright flash on the left – on May 31, 2024. The image displays a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares, colorized in red. |
On May 31, 2024, at precisely 6:03 p.m. ET, the Sun unleashed a powerful solar flare, which was observed and captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Solar flares are significant bursts of energy that can have widespread effects on Earth. These flares and associated solar eruptions have the potential to disrupt radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals, and they can pose substantial risks to spacecraft and astronauts operating in space.
This particular flare has been classified as an X1.1 flare. The classification system for solar flares places X-class as the most intense, with the number indicating further details about the flare’s strength.To understand how such space weather phenomena might impact Earth, you can visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center at [spaceweather.gov](https://spaceweather.gov/), the official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts from the U.S. government.
NASA plays a crucial role as a research arm in the nation’s space weather monitoring efforts. The agency constantly observes the Sun and the surrounding space environment using a fleet of spacecraft dedicated to studying solar activity, the solar atmosphere, and the particles and magnetic fields in the space around Earth.
