Watch: NASA PIC shows strong solar flare from Sun

NASA has shared an image showing the sun emitted a strong solar flare on April 30. The picture is very clear and it can be seen in the bright flash in the snap's upper right portion. Solar flares are sudden releases of magnetic energy, which if directed towards Earth, can impact radio communications, electric power grids and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

The Sun has been a little extra over the last two weeks with five moderate to strong solar flares – sudden releases of magnetic energy. Since April 19, three of them were classified as strong. The Sun emits solar flares occasionally, though they don’t always impact humans on Earth.

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If directed toward Earth, strong flares can impact power grids, radio communications, navigational systems, and pose a potential risk to spacecraft and astronauts. NASA missions study flares to help us prepare for and better mitigate their impact.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of one of the solar flares, seen in the upper right portion of this image, on April 30. SDO’s mission is to learn how the Sun affects the Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Sun’s interior, magnetic field, atmosphere, and energy output.