A Guide to Solar Flares: What Does It Take To Be X-Class?

Active Sun Solar Flares

Solar flares are giant explosions on the sun that send energy, light, and high speed particles into space. These flares are often associated with solar magnetic storms known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The number of solar flares increases approximately every 11 years, and the sun is currently moving towards another solar maximum, likely in 2013. That means more flares will be coming, some small and some big enough to send their radiation all the way to Earth.

The biggest flares are known as “X-class flares” based on a classification system that divides solar flares according to their strength. The smallest ones are A-class (near background levels), followed by B, C, M and X. Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. So an X is ten times an M and 100 times a C. Within each letter class there is a finer scale from 1 to 9.


Solar flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are A-class, followed by B, C, M and X, the largest. Credit: NASA/Goddard/S. Wiessinger

C-class and smaller flares are too weak to noticeably affect Earth. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that might endanger astronauts.

X-Class Solar Flare NASA SDO

An X-class solar flare (X9.3) emitted on September 6, 2017, and captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

And then come the X-class flares. Although X is the last letter, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. The most powerful flare measured with modern methods was in 2003, during the last solar maximum, and it was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it. The sensors cut out at X28.

SOHO Solar Flare 2003

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft captured this image of a solar flare as it erupted from the sun early on Tuesday, October 28, 2003. Credit: ESA & NASA/SOHO

The biggest X-class flares are by far the largest explosions in the solar system and are awesome to watch. Loops tens of times the size of Earth leap up off the sun’s surface when the sun’s magnetic fields cross over each other and reconnect. In the biggest events, this reconnection process can produce as much energy as a billion hydrogen bombs.

If they’re directed at Earth, such flares and associated CMEs can create long lasting radiation storms that can harm satellites, communications systems, and even ground-based technologies and power grids. X-class flares on December 5 and December 6, 2006, for example, triggered a CME that interfered with GPS signals being sent to ground-based receivers.

Halloween Solar Storms of 2003

The Halloween solar storms of 2003 resulted in this aurora visible in Mt. Airy, Maryland. Credit:
NASA/George Varros

NASA and NOAA – as well as the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) and others — keep a constant watch on the sun to monitor for X-class flares and their associated magnetic storms. With advance warning many satellites and spacecraft can be protected from the worst effects.

1 Comment on "A Guide to Solar Flares: What Does It Take To Be X-Class?"

  1. in the first paragraph it says 2013, this year is 2022

Leave a Reply to JT Cancel reply

Email address is optional. If provided, your email will not be published or shared.