NASA: Two massive solar flares erupted on Sun; Big solar storm set to hit the Earth

tech.hindustantimes.com:

NASA: On Tuesday, April 19, one moderate and a strong solar flare erupted on the surface of the Sun and now more solar storms can hit the Earth. In the last few days, the Earth has been a victim of increased solar activity. Earlier this week, parts of Asia and Australia experienced radio blackouts after a strong solar storm struck our planet. Even earlier today, an intense solar storm hit the Earth and India was among the areas of impact. With these new solar flares erupting, what should we expect? And why have solar activities increased in the past few months? Read on to find out.

According to NASA, solar flares are powerful bursts of energy that are caused by a sudden and large combustion taking place on the Sun. As a solar flare erupts, it unleashes large amounts of solar matter into the space known as coronal mass ejection. When the CME passes through the highly charged atmosphere of the Sun, it accumulates extremely high electromagnetic energy inside of it as well. When the CME strikes the Earth, the resultant impact is called a solar storm.

Among the two solar flares that have erupted, one is an M-class flare and the other is an X-class flare which is the strongest class of solar flare. We have already experienced an X-class solar flare earlier this week which caused radio blackouts and GPS disruptions. If this upcoming solar storm is anything like that, then it will cause a wide range of problems for the Earth.

NASA says that a moderate solar flare can result in aurora lights, which are these brilliant curtain patterned lights visible near the higher altitudes. However, X-class solar flares can produce solar storms which are strong enough to damage satellites, mobile phone networks, and even cause failure of power