I like your flare. ☀ The Sun isn’t idle in the sky. Our nearby star is a dynamic object, constantly changing and creating space weather events, such as this solar flare captured by @nasasolarsystem’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on Oct. 2, 2022. Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy on the Sun’s surface. In this image, they are noticeable as the brightest areas of the Sun and can last from minutes to hours. In addition to monitoring the Sun’s activity, we also categorize and classify it. This most recent flare is classified as an X1 flare. An X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number, which reaches a maximum of nine, provides more information about its strength. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however—when intense enough—they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS & communications signals travel. By studying flares and how they affect our planet and nearby space, the SDO helps us to better prepare for and mitigate these potential disruptions. These daily space weather reports and observations are available at www.spaceweather.gov Image Description: The Sun envelops the majority of the image with swirls of solar activity visible throughout its surface in shades of orange differing from dark rusty orange to bright near-yellow orange relative to the heat of the solar materials. Amongst the swirling hues of orange, there are a few brightly glowing near-white regions of the Sun that highlight the extremely hot material of solar flares eruptions. Along the outer periphery of the Sun, its light permeates the darkness of space creating fuzzy apparitions at their junction. The background of the image is the dark blackness of space. Credit: NASA/SDO #NASA #Sun #Space #SolarSystem #SolarFlare #Fall #SpaceWeather #Orange