The sun is currently experiencing intense activity, firing off powerful solar flares. Sunspot AR3738, as it rotates out of view on the sun’s western limb, has emitted a strong X-class solar flare, the most powerful type. T

his flare occurred on Tuesday morning (July 16) at 9:26 a.m. EDT (1326 GMT), causing a shortwave radio blackout primarily over the Atlantic Ocean and affecting much of Africa, Europe, and parts of North and South America.

Solar flares are bursts of electromagnetic radiation from sunspots, caused by the release of magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere, Space.com has reported.

They are classified by size into lettered groups: X-class (most powerful), followed by M, C, and B (weakest), with each class further graded by numbers indicating their relative strength.

Written by B.C. Begley