Recent strong solar flare can hamper satellite communication

There is a strong ionospheric perturbation is ongoing over India, South East Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions, according to scientists, which has caused the flare
Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
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Photo: NASA

The sun emitted a strong solar flare April 19, 2022, that can impact satellite communication and global positioning systems, the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) said April 20.

“The X2.2 class solar flare eruption took place at 3:57 UTC (9.27 IST) from the solar magnetic active region AR12992,” Dibyendu Nandi, associate professor and coordinator of CESSI told the news agency, Press Trust of India.

The CESSI is part of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata.

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also tweeted about the flare.

The CESSI said the flare has been caused because of the ionospheric impact localised over the Pacific region. It added that it had predicted this flare April 18.

“Strong ionospheric perturbation is ongoing over India, South East Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions. Expected high frequency communication blackouts, satellite anomalies, GPS scintillations, airline communication impacts,” it tweeted.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) notes that “solar flares are powerful bursts of energy.” The current flare, an ‘X’ class one, is the most intense type of flare. The number besides it provides more information about its strength, according to NASA.

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