On Tuesday, November 11, the strongest solar flare of the year erupted, leading to significant communication disruptions in Europe and Africa. According to Space.com, the explosion peaked at 12:00 PM Kyiv time on the sunspot AR4274, which has recently shown increased activity.
This flare caused severe radio communication issues on the sunlit side of the Earth, particularly affecting regions in Africa and Europe, disrupting high-frequency radio transmissions.
This event is part of a series of intense flares observed in the AR4274 area, including two previous flares on November 9 (X1.7) and November 10 (X1.2), both accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
The CME from Tuesday's flare is traveling towards Earth at a speed of 7 million km/h. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts that the CME may impact Earth around noon on November 12, potentially causing intense magnetic storms.
Solar flares are classified into five levels based on their intensity: A, B, C, M, and X. X-class flares are the most powerful, and the number following X indicates their intensity.
The sunspot in region 4114 produced the most potent X1.9 solar flare, causing shortwave radio disruptions across the entire Pacific Ocean, including parts of Hawaii.