What the Sun's Most Intense Solar Flare Looks Like
Sun ejected one of its most powerful flares this week.
— -- This is muy caliente.
The sun let out one of its most intense flares on Cinco de Mayo. NASA captured the striking moment Tuesday in a series of photos showing the brilliant burst of radiation at different wavelengths.
The solar flare, which peaked at 6:11 pm ET, gained an X-class designation from NASA, meaning it is among the most intense flares the sun can emit.
Solar flares can't permeate Earth's atmosphere, but the strongest of the X-class can cause issues for GPS when it passes through the part of the atmosphere where those signals travel.