00:00Last week, the sun let out an epic roar in the form of an X-class flare.
00:09That wasn't particularly out of the ordinary, especially as the sun approaches the apex
00:13of its 11-year solar cycle.
00:15However, the resulting coronal mass ejection happened to coincide with our planetary orbit,
00:19meaning it came right at us.
00:21This caused radio blackouts in several areas around the planet, but also resulted in some
00:26amazing auroras in some areas that usually never get to see them.
00:29Now astronomers say the sun is at it again, but this time the flare is the biggest one
00:34it has let out in 7 years.
00:36It was measured at X8.7, making it one of the top 20 strongest solar flares ever detected.
00:42For reference, last week's auroras were caused by an X5.8 solar flare, meaning this
00:46most recent one was nearly 40% stronger.
00:49So are we about to get another bout of beautiful auroras?
00:52Experts say that this flare occurred as the active area was turning away from Earth, meaning
00:56we shouldn't expect anything as spectacular as we saw last week.
00:59Still, the sun is clearly acting up, and we could expect another epic show as we approach
01:04the solar maximum sometime in the next two years.
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