Intense X-class solar flare recorded blasting off from the sun's surface
The sun unleashed a powerful solar flare on March 28, 2025, causing a radio blackout across North and South America and the Atlantic on Friday morning. This was the first X-class flare the sun had released since early February, and it was classified as an X1.1-class solar flare.
The flare, which occurred near 11:20 a.m. EST, was captured on video by the GOES-16 satellite. The video showed the solar flare erupting from the sun alongside a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME, however, is not expected to hit our planet.
The sunspot that caused the flare and the CME, named AR4046, is moving around the sun to face our planet. This means that if it releases any more flares or CMEs, they will likely hit the Earth head-on.
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center stated that there was immediate, wider area of strong degradation or signal loss in high frequency (HF) communication bands over much of the sunlit side of Earth.
If Earth happens to be in the path of a CME, it can cause serious disturbances to satellites and power grids. CMEs are massive bursts of plasma and magnetic field from the sun that are ejected into space. They can trigger geomagnetic storms, knock satellites out of the sky, tamper with GPS-based equipment on Earth, and trigger widespread power outages in severe cases.
The likelihood of another X-class solar flare occurring between March 31 and April 2 depends primarily on the activity of sunspot regions on the Sun and the stage of the solar cycle. While no specific forecast data covers this exact date range in 2025, the current solar cycle (Cycle 25) has been more active than expected, with increased sunspot numbers and several strong flares in 2024 and 2025, including X-class events recorded earlier this year.
Solar astrophysicist Ryan French wrote in a post on X that further strong solar activity is likely in the coming week as the flare source region rotates to face Earth. A new sunspot named AR4048 is also turning toward Earth, and is expected to churn out some powerful flares and CMEs in the coming days.
In summary, while the exact likelihood of an X-class solar flare between March 31 and April 2 is not available, the current solar cycle activity level implies a moderate possibility if large, complex sunspot regions are present. The predicted chance might be on the order of a few percent based on overall solar activity trends and recent forecasting efforts.
Stay tuned for updates on solar activity and its potential impact on our planet.
- The captured video by the GOES-16 satellite in the aforementioned event showcases science at work, as it visualizes the solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) in space-and-astronomy, which are phenomena influenced by technology.
- If the current solar cycle (Cycle 25) continues with its elevated activity level, it could lead to an increase in strong solar flares and CMEs, raising concerns about their potential impact on Earth's satellites, power grids, and overall technology infrastructure in the future.
