Sep 11, 2010 09:10 GMT  ·  By

Experts operating a solar telescope say that they have identified a massive solar flare and eruption taking place on Wednesday, September 8.

This is good news for solar physicists, who have been wondering as to why the Sun is not more active for at least two years. The star is currently supposed to be exiting the solar minimum stage.

It is well known that it functions in 11-year cycles, which alternate periods of intense solar activity with periods of minimums. For the past two years, the level of activity was supposed to be increasing.

This means that the Sun should have produced more solar flares, geomagnetic storms and eruptions from its surface and atmosphere, but expert teams keeping an eye on it did not observe such activity.

Since the beginning of the year, however, some signs of increased solar activity began appearing. Several solar flares already occurred, some of which were very large in size, and also intense.

The recent solar prominence was probably the strongest one recorded this year, but physicists say it will most likely not reach Earth.

When eruptions cause massive stellar winds, these streams of supercharged particles can interact with our planet in negative ways. The particles may pass through the magnetosphere, and reach satellites networks.

Power grids and transformers are also jeopardized by space weather, as are the six astronauts living aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Given the high danger level they entail, solar flares are closely monitored by researchers, who use instruments such as the new NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).

According to the investigators, the C3 class flare originated in sunspot 1105. “Just as sunspot 1105 was turning away from Earth on Sept. 8, the active region erupted, producing a solar flare and a fantastic prominence,” officials at NASA announced on September 9.

“The eruption also hurled a bright coronal mass ejection into space. The eruption was not directed toward any planets,” the announcement goes on to say.

The team adds that the solar flare will not cause brighter auroras on our planet, given the fact that it was not aimed directly at Earth.

Generally, intense solar storms result in bright and beautiful Northern lights, experts conclude, quoted by Space.