Largest Solar Flare In Over A Decade Causes Slight Disruption But Sparks Beautiful Auroras

Sarah Benton Feitlinger
Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:12:14 -0700

On September 6, the sun let its presence be felt by unleashing two massive solar flares. The first eruption, classified as an X2.2 flare, the strongest since 2008, occurred at 5:10 a.m. ET. Shortly after, at about 8:02 a.m ET, the star spewed out a bigger, and more spectacular, X9.3 flare — the most powerful on record since December 2006.