A powerful M-class solar flare on the Sun on February 6 caused extensive disruptions to shortwave radio communication in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Spaceweather portal, Australia and countries in Southeast Asia were affected by the space storm.
Sailors and radio enthusiasts in the region noticed a loss of signal on frequencies below 30 MHz for a whole hour after the peak of the solar flare.
The radio blackout was linked to a strong pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet rays, which reached Earth just over eight minutes after the solar eruption. This radiation ionized the upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere in the sunlit part of the planet.
Additionally, the Sun ejected a giant plasma trail at a speed of over 400 kilometers per hour. If this substance reaches Earth, it could cause disturbances in the magnetic field, disrupt satellite operations, and manifest as polar lights at high latitudes.
According to astronomers, the recent solar eruption poses no threat to our planet because the ejection occurred closer to the southern pole of the Sun, so the plasma cloud is almost certain to pass beneath us.
