This powerful solar flare was spotted on Dec. 5, 2006, erupting from the sun's eastern limb (left side). Credit: NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 16 December 2008
08:08 am ET
A surprising solar flare sent a stream of pure hydrogen at Earth.
"We've detected a stream of perfectly intact hydrogen atoms shooting out of an X-class solar flare," said researcher Richard Mewaldt of Caltech. "If we can understand how these atoms were produced, we'll be that much closer to understanding solar flares."
Solar flares occur when the sun's twisted magnetic fields suddenly release their stored energy. The energy jolts are classified into three categories, with X-class solar flares being major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere. (M-class are medium-sized flares and C-class are small flares with few consequences on Earth.)
The event occurred on Dec. 5, 2006, when a large sunspot rounded the sun's eastern limb and with little warning it exploded. On the "Richter scale" of flares, which ranks X1 as a big event, the blast registered X9, making it one of the strongest flares over the past 30 years.
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