Solar Flare, Ultraviolet, 131 ÌÉ, 2012
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The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this view of the flare in the Sun's southern hemisphere on July 12, 2012, showing the Sun as viewed at 131 Angstroms. Ultraviolet wavelengths help solar physicists study the fine magnetic structures in the Sun's super-heated atmosphere, or corona. The teal false color was chosen by the science team to distinguish between the spectral bands. The flare was classified as X1.4, with X being the highest class of flares (A, B, C, M, and X). The explosion launched a stream of particles toward Earth, where they arrived in the upper atmosphere just hours after the eruption. Several outlets reported minor disturbances to Global Positioning System signals and radio blackouts at high latitudes. This is the sixth X-class flare of 2012, a year that could be the peak of the current 11-year solar cycle.