The number provides more information about its strength. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. This flare is classified as an M-Class flare. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in SDO channel colors 131 and 171. This is a close-up image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory of today’s solar flare. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in SDO channel color 131. Caption: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare – as seen in the bright flash in the upper right portion of the image– on March 31, 2022.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. The Sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on March 31, 2022, peaking at 2:35 p.m.

Sun flare brush