The Sun Blasts Out a Pair of X-Class Flares

The Sun erupted again today, blasting out a pair of X-class flares within hours of each other, the first such high-energy flares since May. The image above is from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which stares at the Sun 24 hours a day to monitor activity. It shows the second flare, which occurred at 15:00 UTC (11:00 EDT) on October 25, 2013. The first flare blew off around 08:00. Solar flares are caused by magnetic activity on the Sun. Super-hot plasma (ionized gas) rises from the Sun's...