solar flares : NPR

Image of sunspot AR 2192 Alan Friedman/Randall Shivak/Averted Imagination hide caption

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Alan Friedman/Randall Shivak/Averted Imagination

'Freakish' Sunspot Wows Astronomers

October 24, 2014 • AR 2192, the largest sunspot seen since the beginning of the current 11-year cycle that started in 2008, is producing strong solar flares.

Solar Flare Could Trigger Auroras Tonight For Northern U.S.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft captures Wednesday's solar flare eruption. NASA/SDO hide caption

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NASA/SDO

Solar Flare Could Trigger Auroras Tonight For Northern U.S.

September 12, 2014 • The X-class Coronal Mass Ejection, or CME, that erupted on the sun on Wednesday is not expected to cause major disruptions to the electrical grid or communications.

Aurora Watchers 'May Be In Luck' As Solar Flare Reaches Earth

A coronal mass ejection (CME) exploding off the surface of the sun in an image captured Tuesday by the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Uncredited/AP hide caption

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Uncredited/AP

The Two-Way

Aurora Watchers 'May Be In Luck' As Solar Flare Reaches Earth

January 9, 2014 • NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center says the Earth-bound coronal mass ejection from Tuesday's X-class solar flare was "slightly overdue."

Solar Flare Will Hit Earth Thursday; Northern Lights May Expand South

Coming At You: An image created by NASA combines two pictures from its Solar Dynamics Observatory. One shows the location of a large sunspot; the other shows Tuesday's massive solar flare. NASA/SDO hide caption

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NASA/SDO

The Two-Way

Solar Flare Will Hit Earth Thursday; Northern Lights May Expand South

January 8, 2014 • Tired of reading about intensely cold temperatures? How about an intense solar flare that's being blamed for disrupting a NASA mission? The good news is that the flare is also expected to expand the viewing field of the aurora borealis.

Wow! NASA Video Shows 'Mind-Bogglingly Gorgeous' Solar Eruption

That's quite an eruption. nasa.gov hide caption

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nasa.gov

The Two-Way

Wow! NASA Video Shows 'Mind-Bogglingly Gorgeous' Solar Eruption

September 5, 2012 • Watch as a massive flare shoots from the sun and stretches a half million miles into space. Friday's event dealt Earth's magnetic environment a "glancing blow," NASA says.