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    NASA Sun Data helps New Model Predict Big Solar Flares

    August 3, 2020, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A satellite image of the Sun, colorized in gold-purple. A bright burst of light shines from below the left horizon.
    An X-class solar flare flashes on the edge of the Sun on March 7, 2012. This image was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows a type of light that is invisible to human eyes, called extreme ultraviolet light.
    Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

    Using data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, scientists have developed a new model that successfully predicted seven of the Sun’s biggest flares from the last solar cycle, out of a set of nine. With more development, the model could be used to one day inform forecasts of these intense bursts of solar radiation.

    As it progresses through its natural 11-year cycle, the Sun transitions from periods of high to low activity, and back to high again...

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