This timelapse covers approximately four hours and was captured at a wavelength of 304 angstroms. Source and more details: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10801
The Sun unleashing a spectacular solar flare and coronal mass ejection, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft.
— Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) May 3, 2022
Credit: NASA/GSFC pic.twitter.com/3cICiw999w
Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth’s atmosphere, causing a strong shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe (see map below). Signals below 30 MHz were attenuated for more than an hour. More from Cap Allon at Electroverse.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.spaceweather.com/images2022/03may22/blackoutmap.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
In Argentina, photographer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau was already pointing his solar telescope at the sun when the flare occurred.
“At that very moment I was trying to photograph new sunspot AR3004,” says Poupeau. “Suddenly I received an X-flare alert on my smartphone. I quickly switched to the sun’s southeastern limb where debris thrown up by the flare was still very bright.”
The sunspot responsible for the blast has been visible for less than a day, writes the excellent Dr Tony Phillips over at spaceweather.com, yet already it has unleashed 9+ solar flares (more than six Cs, two Ms and one X).