Sun unleashes powerful M5.6 solar flare and Earth is in the firing line — are auroras incoming?
The sun has once again unleashed a powerful solar flare, continuing its streak of intense activity. On April 1, at 2:46 a.m. EDT (0646 GMT), an M5.6-class flare erupted from sunspot region AR4046 — the same region responsible for last week's X-class flare and massive coronal mass ejection (CME).Unlike the previous event, this latest eruption could have a greater impact on Earth, as AR4046 has now moved into the "Earth strike zone," meaning any CME it produces in the coming days has a much higher chance of hitting our planet. If this flare is accompanied by a CME, it could set the stage for heightened geomagnetic activity, potentially triggering geomagnetic storms and dazzling northern lights at high and even mid-latitudes. Forecasters are currently awaiting coronagraph data to confirm whether a CME was launched alongside this event.Meanwhile, AR4046 isn't the only sunspot region drawing attention. AR4048, a still-emerging sunspot that has yet to fully rotate to face Earth, has been cra...