This one peaked this past Thursday, at 8:13 p.m. EDT

Oct 2, 2015 18:19 GMT  ·  By

This past Thursday, October 1, a sudden and quite powerful burst of radiation happened on the surface of the Sun. The event, known to scientists as a flare, was observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. 

Launched in February 2010 as part of the space agency's Living With a Star program, the Solar Dynamics Observatory has but one job: closely monitor activity on the Sun and try to figure out how the star's routine influences conditions here on Earth and other nearby orbs.

This latest flare spotted by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on the Sun peaked at 8:13 p.m. EDT. In the image below, the flare appears as a bright flash on the star's lower right limb.

“Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground,” reads the description accompanying the view.

“However - when intense enough - they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel,” scientists over at NASA further detail.

As impressive as it might look, the fact of the matter is this solar flare that occurred yesterday was only an M5.5 class one. The most intense flares that can happen on the Sun, classified as X-class ones, are 10 times more powerful.

Interestingly, it was only a few days ago, on September 28, that another M-class flare was documented by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on the surface of the Sun.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory sees the Sun flare up
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory sees the Sun flare up

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Artist's rendering of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory sees the Sun flare up
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