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Sun Releases M5.6-Class Solar Flare

SDO captured this image of an M5.6-class solar flare on Aug. 24, 2015
NASA's SDO captured this image of a mid-level solar flare, an M5.6-class, on Aug. 24, 2015.

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, an M5.6-class, peaking at 3:33 a.m EDT on Aug. 24, 2015. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. Credit: NASA/SDO

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