On Tuesday, November 11, the Sun experienced its most powerful eruption of the year, causing severe communication issues in Europe and Africa, as reported by Space.com.
The eruption peaked at noon Kyiv time on the solar spot AR4274, which had been active in recent days.
This flare resulted in significant radio outages across Africa and Europe, disrupting high-frequency communication on the sunlit side of the planet.
The flare is the latest in a series of intense eruptions from the AR4274 region. Previous flares were recorded on November 9 (X1.7) and November 10 (X1.2), both accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
The CME from Tuesday's flare is traveling toward Earth at a speed of 7 million km/h. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the CME could impact Earth around noon on November 12, potentially causing strong magnetic storms.
Solar flares are classified into five categories: A, B, C, M, and X, with X-class flares being the most intense, and the number after X indicating their strength.
The solar spot in region 4114 emitted the most powerful flare of class X1.9, causing shortwave radio interruptions across the Pacific Ocean, including parts of Hawaii.