NASA Astronomers Capture Images of First X-class Solar Flare in 2015

Astronomers at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory have recently captured images of the first significant X-class solar flare (powerful bursts of radiation) of the year on March 11, 2015.

Harmful radiation from a solar flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However, when intense enough, it can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

'Solar Flare' in 2012 Could Have Pushed Earth into Dark Age
Earth nearly missed a solar flare, revealed NASA recently, a Coronal Mass Ejection that might have plunged the planet towards a global catastrophe on July 23, 2012.

This solar flare was classified as an X2.2-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number gives more information about its strength.

Source-Medindia

Scientists To Be Warned About Potential Solar Flares By New System
A new method to predict solar flares more than a day before they occur has been found by researchers at Purdue University.

Frequent Fliers Prone to Risk of 'Radiation Poisoning from Space Solar Flare'
If you're a frequent airline traveler, you are probably at a greater risk of developing cancer due to high radiation levels from the Sun.

Need for Avoidance of Sun Exposure Emphasized By Study of Young Israelis
Exposure to the Israeli sun of young, light-skinned children increases substantially the risk of cutaneous melanoma (a serious form of skin cancer).