Strong, X-Class Solar Flare Causes Radio Blackout, Creates Radio Waves of its Own [VIDEO]

A strong, X-class solar flare unfurled from the Sun on Saturday causing a brief radio disturbance and generating a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that will likely graze by Earth, according to NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory.

The brief, but intense X1-class flare peaked at 1:48 p.m. EDT March 29, NASA said.

According to SpaceWeather.com, the flare, a flash of extreme UV radiation, sent waves of ionization charging through Earth's upper atmosphere. This resulted in a brief but observed disturbance of terrestrial radio transmissions.

The flare not only blacked out some radio signals, it produced radio signals of its own, SpaceWeather.com said, reporting:

"The explosion above sunspot AR2017 sent shock waves racing through the Sun's atmosphere at speeds as high as 4800 km/s (11 million mph). Radio emissions stimulated by those shocks crossed the 93 million mile divide to Earth, causing shortwave radio receivers to roar with static."

Harmful radiation from solar flares cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically effect humans on the ground, NASA said in a statement regarding the flare released Monday.

The CMEs that came from the flare could possibly graze Earth early April 2, but will have little or no impact on Earth, the Solar Dynamics Observatory said, noting that the flare also produced "a very nice example of coronal dimming."

In the video below, in the moments after the flare, you can see what seems like a shadow being cast over the top-left quadrant of the Sun. The reason for these coronal dimming is unclear, the SDO said in a blog post. They might be the the edges of a CME that left the Sun at the same time as the flare. The dimming might also be waves moving past magnetic field lines, causing them to sway.

Forecasters at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center report there is a 20 percent chance of another X-class flare on Monday, March 31. There is also a 55 percent chance of a weaker, M-class flare occurring during the same time frame.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 35 percent to 60 percent chance of polar geomagnetic storms on April 1-2.

There are several classes of solar flares, but M-class and X-class are most noteworthy because they can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth. M-class flares are the weakest type of solar flare that can cause some space weather effects near Earth, while X-class flares are the most powerful.

The numbers following the flare's letter class provide more information about the flare's strength. An X2 flare, for instance, is twice as strong as an X1.

Last month the Sun unleashed its most powerful solar flare of the year and one of the most powerful in the current solar cycle. The X4.9-class flare peaked on the evening of Feb. 24, occurring from sunspot region AR 11990. The largest solar flare of 2013 was rated X3.3.

The strongest flare of the current 11-year solar cycle was an X6.9 that occurred in August 2011.