Events of this class are the most energetic the Sun can produce

Apr 1, 2014 09:45 GMT  ·  By
Image of the X.1-class solar flare detected by SDO on Saturday, March 29, 2014
   Image of the X.1-class solar flare detected by SDO on Saturday, March 29, 2014

On Saturday, March 29, the Sun released one of the most powerful solar flares of 2014, an X-class event that peaked at 1:48 pm EDT (0548 GMT). Such phenomena are the most intense the Sun is capable of producing, and are much more powerful than M-class events, the class one step below. 

The solar flare was observed by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in two wavelengths, at 304 and 171 Angstrom. The latest event was classified as an X.1-class flare, meaning that it had the lowest possible intensity of all X-class events. The way this classification works is that X2 events are twice as intense as X1 ones, X3s are three times as intense, and so on.

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has yet to issue any warnings related to this solar fare. This organization is responsible for predicting the effects that any flare will have on our planet, and has to instruct people and businesses on how to best brace for these consequences.

Solar flares, and the coronal mass ejections that usually accompany them, tend to release massive amounts of radiations and highly-charged particles from the Sun, which travel in clouds throughout the solar system. In some instances, these clouds may be on a collision course with Earth, potentially causing disruptions in our power grids and satellite networks, and endangering the space station.