Sun flare what is

Skip to main content. R1 Minor Radio Blackout Impacts. HF Radio: Weak or minor degradation of HF radio communication on sunlit side, occasional loss of radio contact.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for brief intervals. Solar Flares Radio Blackouts. The table below provides the correlation between radio blackouts, solar flares, nominal energy flux watts per square meter , and the designated severity event descriptor Radio Blackout….. X-ray Flare….. The amount of solar activity changes with the stages in the solar cycle.

Solar activity can have effects here on Earth, so scientists closely monitor solar activity every day. Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. The temperature of a sunspot is still very hot though—around 6, degrees Fahrenheit! Why are sunspots relatively cool?

These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface. In this image, you can see an active region on the sun with dark sunspots. The magnetic field lines near sunspots often tangle, cross, and reorganize.

This can cause a sudden explosion of energy called a solar flare. Solar flares release a lot of radiation into space. If a solar flare is very intense, the radiation it releases can interfere with our radio communications here on Earth.

Taken with my iPhone. You know it's a wild aurora when you can take these in town on a phone. AuroraBorealis pic. A geomagnetic storm does not pose much threat to humans, but it can affect satellites orbiting Earth and GPS, It also can cause disruptions to some radio communications, according to NASA.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert Coastalasha. Email: agilbert usatoday. Facebook Twitter Email. What's a solar flare? And how can a geomagnetic storm make auroras visible in the US?