The Sun has unleashed its most powerful flares: Earth has already felt the impact, but this is just the beginning (photo).

On January 3 and 4, two powerful energy and radiation bursts occurred on the Sun, reaching Earth within minutes and causing radio communication outages in Africa, South America, and Australia. Scientists predict the onset of a geomagnetic storm on Earth on January 5 and 6, reports Space.

The strongest solar flares are energy and radiation eruptions classified as X-class. Data from spacecraft monitoring solar activity indicated that on Friday, January 3, an X1.2 flare appeared on our star, followed by an X1.1 flare on Saturday, January 4. The radiation emitted during these flares reaches Earth in about 10 minutes. The first event resulted in radio outages in some areas of Africa, South America, and the southern Atlantic Ocean. The second event caused communication loss in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and the southern Pacific Ocean.

Both X-class flares originated from a sunspot region known as AR3947. These are darker areas on the Sun's surface with cooler plasma and strong magnetic fields. When the magnetic field lines rearrange, energy and radiation bursts occur. If the sunspot region is directed towards Earth, the radiation impacts our planet, leading to adverse effects.

Communication disruptions occur because charged particles from the Sun penetrate the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere and interact with gas molecules, hindering the normal transmission of radio signals.

Solar flares are categorized into 5 classes, with each class being ten times stronger than the previous one. X-class flares are the most powerful, followed by M-class, C-class, and the list concludes with B-class and A-class flares. Each letter is accompanied by a number indicating the strength of the individual flare.

Scientists believe that both flares were accompanied by coronal mass ejections or bursts of hot plasma from the Sun that could reach Earth. If this occurs, a geomagnetic storm of level G1 or G2 is expected on January 5 and 6. These are classified as moderate geomagnetic storms.

Currently, the Sun is in a phase of activity known as solar maximum. This phase occurs approximately midway through the Sun's 11-year activity cycle. The current 25th solar activity cycle began in 2019. Solar maximum is characterized by a significant increase in sunspots and the occurrence of the most powerful flares. It is anticipated that X-class flares will frequently occur on the Sun in 2025.