Whats up with the sun?

One of the best parts about being a teacher is when students ask questions about something they saw or heard outside of school! Today, I had several students ask me "Whats going on with the sun?" My response was I wasn't sure, either. I had heard a little news about solar activity recently, but I couldn't answer confidently.

So, I started looking ... and here is what I discovered:

On January 27th, 2012, the sun released a solar flare that measured X1.8. A solar flare is when the sun releases magnetic energy in the form of intense bursts of radiation. (The picture below is an example of what a flare looks like, not the actual event on January 27th)

What does that mean to us on Earth? Likely, it would have little to no impact on our day to day life. There could be a small blackout in radio transmissions, and if you were flying to the North Pole, your plane may have to be redirected. In fact, Delta Airlines rerouted their planes flying near the North Pole as a precaution to avoid loss of communication or exposing passengers and crew to large amounts of raditation this week.

The increased release of radation from the sun also increases the aurora activity at the poles. It would be a great time to visit Alaska!

Even after researching this event, I still have lots of questions myself. NASA has great answers to all the questions you're thinking right now!