PREVIEW

Powerful Solar Storm Expected to Disrupt , Radio Signals . 'Newsweek' reports that a solar storm, caused by an X-class solar flare that took place on New Year's Eve, was expected to impact Earth on January 2. Experts warned that the resulting solar storm could start disrupting radio signals and cause bright auroras on that date. "The super #solarstorm launched during a X4.98-flare New Year's Eve will clip Earth. NOAA prediction shows impact early January 2 (UTC)." "The storm should hit hard, but last less than a day. Expect bright, but short-lived #aurora plus #radio signal disruptions on Earth's nightside.", Tamitha Skov, space weather physicist, via X . A solar flare is an ejection of electromagnetic radiation, usually in the form of X-rays. Typically, solar flares are emitted from sunspots on the surface of the sun and occur when magnetic fields in those sunspots become reorganized or entangled. "The weakest are the A-class flares, followed in intensity by the B-class, C-class, M-class—these are moderate—and the X-class.", Gonzalo José Carracedo Carballal, astrophysics researcher at Madrid's Instituto Nacional de Técnica, via 'Newsweek'. According to Jesse Woodroffe, a program scientist in the Heliophysics Division at NASA headquarters, solar flares are, "around a million times stronger than a nuclear bomb." However, 'Newsweek' reports that a nuclear explosion takes place in a highly localized position of time and space, while the energy emitted by solar flares spreads across a vast distance. The X-class event on December 31 was the most powerful on record since the beginning of the current solar cycle, which started in December of 2019. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT