An X1.9 solar flare, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Solar eruptions like this can affect space weather near Earth. | Space 360

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare on Jan. 18, peaking at 1:09 PM ET. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the event, which was classified as X1.9. https://go.nasa.gov/4pMKbLQ Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS & communications signals travel. To see how such space we