A fifth M-class flare occurred on the Sun within 24 hours

A flare of the second-to-last power class (M) has occurred again on the Sun. This is already the fifth such flare registered on October 18.

As reported by BAKU.WS, this was announced to TASS by the Institute of Applied Geophysics.

"On October 18 at 13:51 Moscow time (14:51 Baku time - ed.) an M1.5 flare with a duration of 22 minutes was registered in the X-ray range in sunspot group 4246 (N22W87)," the institute reported.

Prior to this, on October 18, specialists recorded four more M-class flares in the same active region. The first occurred at 03:40 Moscow time (M1.0, 04:40 Baku time - ed.), the second at 05:39 Moscow time (M1.1, 06:39 Baku time - ed.), the third at 09:39 Moscow time (M1.2, 10:39 Baku time - ed.) and the fourth at 09:58 Moscow time (M1.3, 10:58 Baku time - ed.). All of them were registered in sunspot group 4246.

Solar flares are divided into five classes depending on the power of X-ray radiation: A, B, C, M, and X. The minimum class A0.0 corresponds to a radiation power of 10 nanowatts per square meter in Earth's orbit. When transitioning to the next letter, the power increases by a factor of 10. Flares can be accompanied by ejections of solar plasma, the clouds of which, upon reaching Earth, can cause magnetic storms.