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The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on Jan. 20, 2022, peaking at 1:01 a.m. EST. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
This flare is classified as a M5.5 class flare.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—as seen in the bright flash on the right side of this image of the Sun—on January 20. The image from SDO's Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 131 Ångström channel (colorized in teal) shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. Credits: NASA/SDOA zoom in on the flaring region. Credits: NASA/SDO