An image of the Sun showing sunspots (black splotches). The image was taken by the SOHO satellite on August 28, 2001. The largest sunspot seen is sunspot 9591 (towards bottom-center of image). There is a good chance that this sunspot will produce a solar flare in the next day or two!
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of SOHO/MDI

Solar Flares!
News story originally written on August 28, 2001

Have you ever had trouble getting in your favorite radio station? My friend couldn't get in his favorite stations yesterday. It turns out that a big solar flare burst from the Sun on Saturday. It caused radio blackouts. Some blackouts lasted more than an hour!

Scientists are thinking that there may be another solar flare in the next day or two! This flare could cause aurora and of course loss of radio reception that my friend and you have possibly noted! Stay tuned to Spaceweather.com for the latest information on possible flares. And next time you can't get your favorite radio station in, think about the fact that the Sun might be up to something even though it is 93 million miles away!

Last modified August 28, 2001 by Jennifer Bergman.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

1999--A Year in Review...

It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,...more

STS-95 Launch: "Let the wings of Discovery lift us on to the future."

The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The sky was clear and the weather was great. This was the America's 123rd manned space mission. A huge...more

Moon Found Orbiting Asteroid

Scientists found a satellite orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is the second one ever! A special telescope allows scientists to look through Earth's atmosphere. The first satellite found was Dactyl....more

U.S. is Fed Up with Russia

The United States wants Russia to put the service module in orbit! The module is part of the International Space Station. It was supposed to be in space over 2 years ago. Russia just sent supplies to the...more

More on Recent Coronal Mass Ejection

A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. ACE measured some exciting things as the CME material passed...more

Mother Nature's Air Conditioning

Trees and plants are a very important part of this Earth. Trees and plants are nature's air conditioning because they help keep our Earth cool. On a summer day, walking bare-foot on the sidewalk burns,...more

Planetary Alignment 2002

There is something special happening in the night sky. Through mid-May, you will be able to see five planets at the same time! This doesn't happen very often, so you won't want to miss this. Use the links...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA