Photo of the Day: Check Out This Close-up Shot of a Solar Flare
OMG. Is it the end of the world? Is everyone we love and care about soon to be incinerated by a massive radioactive blast from the sun? Will my iPhone still work?
This image, take by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, is actually a mid-level M-class flare, and one of several that have occurred in the same spot over the past few days. They are harmless and can't pass through the atmosphere, according to NASA, but stronger flares have been known to affect GPS and communications on Earth.
There was a streak of more intense X-class flares during the last week of October, which the Space Weather Prediction Center is calling "one for the history books."
This image, take by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, is actually a mid-level M-class flare, and one of several that have occurred in the same spot over the past few days. They are harmless and can't pass through the atmosphere, according to NASA, but stronger flares have been known to affect GPS and communications on Earth.
There was a streak of more intense X-class flares during the last week of October, which the Space Weather Prediction Center is calling "one for the history books."