This last Tuesday another solar burp rocked our solar system. This one went off the scale.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Sun produces monster solar flareThe Sun has unleashed its largest recorded solar flare, capping 10 days of unprecedented activity for the star.
The blast sent billions of tonnes of superhot gas into space - some of it directed towards our planet.
Solar flares are marked with and "X" designation followed by a number. Until Tuesday the highest recorded flare (since recording has been possible) was X20 back in April of 2001. This one is well above that. Scientists haven't been able to provide an exact measurement because some of the satellites that keep an eye on the sun's activity were momentarily blinded by the intensity of this flare.
