May 3rd saw the sun emit a mid-level solar flare at 5:32 pm Alaska time. This powerful burst of radiation was classified as an M5.7 class flare.

M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still produce space weather effects near our planet. Flares of this magnitude and larger have the ability to knock out GPS and communications signals. The harmful radiation does not penetrate the earth’s atmosphere however and so does not pose a risk to human health. The disruption to communications has already passed, the disruption only continues as long as the flare persists.

There was no reported instance of a Coronal Mass Ejection associated with this solar flare. Coronal Mass Ejections or CMEs can cause a geomagnetic storm that can disrupt the earth’s magnetoshere and result in spectacular auroras that can be seen far from the earth’s poles. CMEs can also disrupt electrical transmissions over large areas resulting in network failures and and can also cause extensive damage to satellites.

The solar flare did provide for spectacular imagery that was taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. One image can be seen in the gallery below.