Brighter than a shimmering ghost, faster than the flick of a black cat’s tail, the Sun cast a spell in our direction, just in time for Halloween. This imagery captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory covers a busy few days of activity between Oct. 25-28 that ended with a significant solar flare.
From late afternoon Oct. 25 through mid-morning Oct. 26, an active region on the left limb of the Sun flickered with a series of small flares and petal-like eruptions of solar material.
Meanwhile, the Sun was sporting more active regions at its lower center, directly facing Earth. On Oct. 28, the biggest of these released a significant flare, which peaked at 11:35 a.m. EDT.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
This flare was classified as an X1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, and so on. Flares that are classified X10 or stronger are considered unusually intense.
This was the second X-class flare of Solar Cycle 25, which began in Dec. 2019. A new solar cycle comes roughly every 11 years. Over the course of each cycle, the Sun transitions from relatively calm to active and stormy, and then quiet again; at its peak, known as solar maximum, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip.
Two other eruptions blew off the Sun from this active region: an eruption of solar material called a coronal mass ejection and an invisible swarm of solar energetic particles. These are high-energy charged particles accelerated by solar eruptions.
NASA’s fleet of heliophysics missions keep constant watch on the Sun and space to help us understand what causes such eruptions on the Sun, as well as how this activity affects space, including near Earth, where they can impact astronauts and satellites.
Music: “Immersion“ from Above and Below. Written and produced by Lars Leonhard.
Video credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO
Scott Wiessinger (KBRwyle): Producer
Tom Bridgman (GST): Data Visualizer
Kathalina Tran (SGT): Science Writer
This video can be freely shared and downloaded at While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit
If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel:
Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
· Instagram
· Twitter
· Twitter
· Facebook:
· Flickr
1 view
230
54
7 days ago 00:02:30 1
SNS 2.5 Retake X SNS Real Suffering ~ MOUSECAPADE
7 days ago 01:37:32 1
The story of the orthodox Jews that oppose Israel | Rabbi Elhanan Beck | UNAPOLOGETIC
7 days ago 00:06:57 1
Sting-They Dance Alone
7 days ago 03:04:02 1
Army Of Gods | Epic Orchestral Music For Powerful Battle | Epic Inspirational Music
1 week ago 00:01:25 1
DAN DA DAN | OFFICIAL TRAILER 1
1 week ago 00:17:41 1
What Makes A Photographer When Everyone Is Taking Pictures?
1 week ago 00:26:11 2
Antonio Bertali (1605-1669) - Missa Sancti Spiritus
1 week ago 00:03:19 1
Months of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning Station
2 weeks ago 01:09:19 1
# 504 - 📝COMPLETE Bloom Tutorial WITH measurements and ratios⚠️ Acrylic Pour Painting
2 weeks ago 00:03:22 1
Euro NCAP Crash & Safety Tests of XPENG P7 2023
2 weeks ago 00:01:34 1
UN investigators: Israel obstructs access to victims and witnesses of 7 October attacks and Gaza war
2 weeks ago 00:00:42 1
The Real Truth Behind Omegle’s Shut Down
2 weeks ago 00:01:35 1
12 Months of the Year - THE KIBOOMRS Preschool Songs for Circle Time - Learning Song
2 weeks ago 00:00:25 1
draw a bird 🐦using numbers 1 to 7 #shorts
2 weeks ago 00:01:02 1
“Evil God Korone“ PV for PlayStation®4
2 weeks ago 08:00:25 1
🌴Calm Tropical Beach Relax on a hammock with Wave Sounds 8 hrs 4K
2 weeks ago 00:13:46 1
Pfizer is ’deeply sorry’
3 weeks ago 04:23:43 1
LIVE: Total Solar Eclipse (Great North American Eclipse) - April 8, 2024
3 weeks ago 00:02:23 1
The Beatles - She Loves You [Come To Town, ABC Cinema, Manchester, United Kingdom]
3 weeks ago 00:30:19 1
Here’s how AWFUL Oakland, California is Today. Is it Unfixable?
3 weeks ago 00:18:09 1
Dizzy Gillespie feat. Freddie Hubbard, etc, - Tour De Force - Live at Wolf Trap Farm Park (1987)
3 weeks ago 00:04:06 1
AD INFINITUM - Legends (Official Video)
3 weeks ago 00:15:28 1
Thanatopsis-Fidelis Ad Mortem (GOREGRIND)
3 weeks ago 00:01:00 1
Best method of propagate roses by air layering with tomato #rose_plant #air_layering