Recent Solar Flares Largest on Record

A solar flare that burst out of the sun Tuesday was the largest on record.

The two previous most powerful flares, from 1989 and 2001, were rated at X-20 on the scale used by solar astronomers. Tuesday’s event was at least an X-28 and could be revised upward. The flare was so powerful it “blinded” the satellite used to measure it for 11 minutes.

The flare caused few problems on Earth because it was directed away from the planet and hit only with a glancing blow. The flare was the 10th major outburst from a sunspot region that is the stormiest ever witnessed.