NASA: Sun Releases 2 Strong Solar Flares Before Cell Phone Outage
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| NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flashes in the upper left area of the Sun – on Feb. 21 and 22, 2024. The images show a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in teal. Credit: NASA/SDO |
NASA announced that the Sun emitted two strong solar flares, the first one peaking at 6:07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Wednesday, February 21, 2024, and the second peaking at 1:32 a.m. EST, Thursday, February 22, 2024.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Space Weather Impact On Technology Down On Earth
Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and cell phones, according to NOAA,
Whether the solar flare space weather caused the cell phone outage across the United States causing AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket, Boost, and other cell phone service provider networks to go down around 3:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, February 22, 2024, remains to be determined.
Sun Approaching Solar Maximum
NASA says that solar events will continue to increase as we near solar maximum in 2025, and our lives and technology on Earth, as well as satellites and astronauts in space, will be impacted by the space weather.
Solar Cycle 25 is expected to peak with 115 sunspots in July 2025.
Solar Flare Strength
The first flare is classified as an X1.8 flare. The second flare is classified as an X1.7 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
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| NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flashes in the upper left area of the Sun – on Feb. 21 and 22, 2024. The images show a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in teal. Credit: NASA/SDO |
