On July 23, Europe’s Solar Orbiter detected a powerful X14 class solar flare from the far side of the sun.

Although not the most intense ever recorded, it was significant enough to potentially cause long-lasting radiation storms and global blackouts if aimed at Earth.

X-class flares, the most severe on the classification scale, release energy ten times more than M-class flares.

This X14 flare, along with an accompanying large coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by NASA’s SOHO, was not directed at Earth.

If it had been, it could have resulted in severe technological issues or electrical blackouts similar to the 1989 Quebec power grid failure, Space.com has reported.

Recent notable flares in this solar cycle include an X12 on May 20, 2024, and an X10 on July 17, 2023, both from the sun’s far side, while the largest Earth-facing flare was an X8.9 on May 14, 2024.

Written by B.C. Begley