CME BLOW OUT SUN STORM

Wow! This is so interesting... 

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft captured a solar flare in multiple wavelengths of light. The X-class solar flare is the most powerful category of sun storm.

"Given the impulsive nature of this event, as well as the source location on the eastern limb of the sun, we are not expecting a radiation storm at Earth," scientists with the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. Despite the radio blackouts, the blast is unlikely to cause major issues here on Earth, researchers said.

CMEs are massive clouds of solar particles rocketed into space at millions of miles per hour. Solar flares, by contrast, are blasts of high-energy radiation. CMEs that hit Earth can trigger geomagnetic storms that can disrupt power grids and satellite navigation.

Scientists classify strong solar flares into three categories: C (weakest), M (mid-level) and X (the most powerful). X flares are 10 times more potent than M flares. Wednesday's outburst clocked in at X2.7, outranking the previous flare champion of 2015 — an X2.2 storm that erupted March 11 from a sunspot known as AR12297.

There could be more sun-storm action coming soon, SWPC researchers said.