It seems like every few days we get another bulletin about the Sun giving off a solar flare, and this week is no exception.

On May 3, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught a moderately sized flare that has since been classified as an M-class flare. M-class flares are not the most intense flares – those are the X-class flares – but they are fairly common when the Sun is active. In fact, there was another M-class flare just yesterday, May 4, which was also imaged by SDO.

But wait, there’s more.

Also on May 3, there was an X-class flare. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center: HF (high frequency) communication may have been prone to contact loss over the Atlantic Ocean, and portions of eastern South America, western Africa, and Europe.

And there was even another X-class flare observed on April 30. Talk about heading into a solar maximum.

As a reminder, these flares are not directly harmful to people on Earth, but they do pose a risk to astronauts and spacecraft. They can also impact our power grids and navigation systems, which could definitely cause trouble for humans. On the other hand, powerful flares can make for some pretty aurorae. And if you have a telescope set up for safe solar observations, you can even take a look at all the sunspots causing the solar flares. But remember, never look directly at the Sun without proper safety gear.

If you are set up for solar astrophotography, please share your sunspot images with us on Twitter, as we do love pretty pictures.

More Information

Strong Solar Flare Erupts from Sun (NASA)

Sun Releases Strong Solar Flare (NASA)

Moderate Solar Flare Released by Sun (NASA)

Sun Releases Moderate Solar Flare (NASA)