
First moments of a solar flare in different wavelengths of light







On Feb. 24, 2014, the sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:49 p.m. EST. NASA&amp;#8217;s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which keeps a constant watch on the sun, captured images of the event. These SDO images from 7:25 p.m. EST on Feb. 24 show the first moments of this X-class flare in different wavelengths of light &amp;#8212; seen as the bright spot that appears on the left limb of the sun. Hot solar material can be seen hovering above the active region in the sun&amp;#8217;s atmosphere, the corona.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, appearing as giant flashes of light in the SDO images. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth&amp;#8217;s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however &amp;#8212; when intense enough &amp;#8212; they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and c