Solar flare with the energy of a billion hydrogen bombs lights up British skies

A handout showing the huge solar flare - the largest in over a decade
A handout showing the huge solar flare - the largest in over a decade

Parts of the UK have been treated to spectacular light shows caused by a huge solar flare with the energy of a billion hydrogen bombs, UK scientists have said.

The largest solar flare for more than 12 years - and the eighth-largest since modern records began in 1996 - erupted from the sun on Wednesday and has been captured in high detail by a team of researchers.

The massive burst of radiation, one of three so called X-category flares observed over a 48-hour period, continues to produce spectacular aurora displays across northern latitudes, including northern England and Scotland

Solar flare
A still image of the massive flare which has caused spectacular light shows in northern skies Credit: PA

The Northern Lights have been visible across a wide area, although poor weather across many parts of the country has led to disappointment for many enthusiasts.

A team from a consortium of UK universities, including the University of Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast, observed the huge coronal mass ejections in extremely high detail using the Swedish Solar Telescope on the island of La Palma, in The Canaries.

Northern lights (aurora borealis) illuminate the sky over Torsfjorden near Reine, on Lofoten Islands, Arctic Circle, on September 8, 2017.
Northern lights (aurora borealis) illuminate the sky over Torsfjorden near Reine, on Lofoten Islands, Arctic Circle, on September 8, 2017. Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty

The scientists said the data collected will help predict when and where X-class flares might occur in the future and this information can be channelled into the multi-billion pound space weather industry to better protect satellites from the dangers of the sun.

he Aurora Borealis Northern Lights is seen over the sky near the village of Pallas
he Aurora Borealis Northern Lights is seen over the sky near the village of Pallas, Lapland Credit: Reuters

The team said flare observation using ground-based telescopes is difficult because X-class flares can form and reach their peak intensities in little more than five minutes.

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is seen over the sky near the village of Pallas (Muonio region) of Lapland, Finland September 8, 2017
The Northern Lights seen over the sky near the village of Pallas, Lapland, Finland, September 8, 2017 Credit: Reuters

Dr Chris Nelson, from the University of Sheffield's School of Maths and Statistics, said: "It's very unusual to observe the opening minutes of a flare's life. We can only observe about 1/250th of the solar surface at any one time using the Swedish Solar Telescope, so to be in the right place at the right time requires a lot of luck.

"To observe the rise phases of three X-classes over two days is just unheard of."

Dr Aaron Reid, from Queen's University Belfast's Astrophysics Research Centre, said: "The sun is currently in what we call solar minimum. The number of Active Regions, where flares occur, is low, so to have X-class flares so close together is very usual. These observations can tell us how and why these flares formed so we can better predict them in the future."

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