The most powerful flare for four years has erupted on the sun, aimed directly at the Earth.
Scientists warn it could cause radio blackouts over the next couple of days and produce spectacular displays of the northern lights from high latitudes. The brilliant flash above a 60,000-mile wide dark sunspot was the strongest type of solar flare, bombarding us with X-ray and ultraviolet radiation. At the same time, it hurled millions of tons of charged matter towards Earth . The expanding cloud was pictured in detail by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and the twin STEREO spacecraft as it headed in our direction. Image: NASA/SDO
