Sun erupts with biggest radiation storm in seven years
Baku, January 24 (AZERTAC). A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles past Earth on Tuesday, as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun. NASA`s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun overnight (10:59 p.m. ET Sunday, or 0359 GMT Monday). The solar flare spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory and the STEREO spacecraft, observed the massive sun storm. A barrage of charged particles triggered by the outburst is expected to hit Earth at around 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA`s forecasters say this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005. Scientists call these electromagnetic bursts "coronal mass ejections," and they are closely studied because they can produce potentially harmful geomagnetic storms when electrically charged particles from the sun interact with Earth`s magnetic field.
The sun`s activity waxes and wanes on an 11-year cycle. Currently, our planet`s nearest star is in the midst of Solar Cycle 24, and activity is expected to ramp up toward solar maximum in 2013.
Some solar radiation storms can pose a risk to astronauts, but NASA said the six men aboard the International Space Station were in no danger. "The flight surgeons have reviewed the space weather forecasts for the flare and determined that there are no expected adverse effects or actions required to protect the on-orbit crew," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said.
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