Powerful solar flares hit the Earth and cut off communications

The sun released more than 10 powerful streams of energetic particles toward Earth last Tuesday, sparking warnings of a radio network outage. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a warning showing a 65% chance of disrupting radio, aviation communications and satellite operations this week. NOAA reported radio outages in parts of the Pacific Ocean and other areas Wednesday morning. NASA told the Daily Mail website that Earth may receive more solar flares in the coming weeks. Solar flares are known as explosions of electromagnetic radiation that emanate from sunspots, and there are about 12 active sunspots currently on the Earth-facing side of the sun. When solar flares erupt, they send radiation that travels away from the surface of the sun at the speed of light. Depending on where they come from, the radiation could end up on a collision course with Earth. Powerful X- and M-type flares can cause a communications outage on Earth. When they arrive, they electrically charge the upper atmosphere, which could lead to a radio network outage. Dean Pesnell, a scientist at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, told the Daily Mail: "This is the time when the largest number of sunspots are expected to grow." Even after activity subsides this week, the Sun will remain at solar maximum until 2025. Over the past few days, scientists have been tracking radio blackouts around the world due to a period of intense solar activity. Source: National Iraqi News Agency