NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured a strong X1 solar flare on Oct. 2, 2022. Solar flares are intense bursts of light. Earth’s atmosphere absorbs that light before it reaches the ground. However – when it is intense enough – it can energize and disturb the layer in Earth’s upper atmosphere where GPS and communication signals travel. An X-class solar flare is the most intense type of flare, and the number provides more information about its strength. Although normally the scale is 1-9 for other classes, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. Check out the link in our bio for more. Image description: The Sun is gold with a mottled, swirling surface. Streams of glowing particles burst out from the edge on the lower right and most of the upper left against the black background of space.