Solar flare erupts, impacting Earth’s ionosphere

An M-class flare was recorded on the Sun on Monday, according to Russia's Institute of Applied Geophysics.

"On January 27 at 11:12 a.m. Moscow time, an M2.7 (N11E88) flare lasting 36 minutes was recorded in the X-ray range," the institute said, News.Az reports, citing TASS.

According to the monitoring data, following the flare, the level of impact of solar X-ray bursts on the Earth's ionosphere increased to the R1 (weak) level, on a five-point scale topping out at R5, or extreme.

Solar flares are divided into five classes depending on their X-ray power: A, B, C, M, and X. The minimum class A0.0 corresponds to a radiation power in Earth's orbit of 10 nW per 1 square meter. Moving to the next letter, the power increases by a factor of 10. Flares are usually accompanied by solar plasma ejections, clouds of which, reaching the Earth, may precipitate magnetic storms.

News.Az