Mega Solar Flare Wreaks Havoc on Radio Communications

NASA/SDO/GFSC

An X2.2 flare erupted from the sun's active region 1158 (at lower right) at about 0150 UT or 8:50 pm ET on February 14.

A whopper of a solar flare that fired up earlier this week is wreaking havoc on some radio communications on Earth, and could spark exceptional auroras soon.

The class X solar flare – the most powerful kind of solar flare – spewed from the sun Monday (Feb. 14), unleashing a massive wave of charged particles speeding toward Earth. Now the flare has triggered a geomagnetic storm in our planet's magnetic field that interrupted radio communications in China and could disrupt satellites and power grids as well, AFP reported.

Initial effects

Right after the mega solar flare, a first wave of radiation hit Earth.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/17/mega-solar-flare-wreaks-havoc-radio-communications/#ixzz1EHQqgVfj