The Sun Has Been Spewing Some Intense Solar Flares

The sun is exploding. That is, more than usual for a burning ball of gas. There have been 28 solar flares over the last week or so—a lot, even given that the sun is nearing solar maximum, the phase of the 11-year solar cycle when the star is the most active, and sunspots begin to flare up and burst.

What's more, four of the recent solar flares were X-class, the post powerful sort. Naturally, NASA captured the fiery action on camera for your star-gazing pleasure. The video above shows the sun erupting over the course of five days. It's pretty badass.

Aside from looking cool, the solar flares—which are spitting electromagnetic radiation into space—can sometimes mess with life here on the planet. A strong enough burst in a region of the sun facing Earth can trigger a geomagnetic storm that interferes with the upper layers of our atmosphere, causing radio blackouts or damaging satellites. On the upside, they're also why we have spectacular auroras like the Northern Lights, so that probably makes up for it.

Interestingly, one of the most intense solar storms occurred exactly 10 years ago. A series of explosions culminated in a record-setting X-class flare; the massive eruption was dubbed the “Halloween Storms.” Discovery News's Ian O’Neill recently reminisced about witnessing that X28 solar flare in early November, 2003, and its aftereffects.

"Aircraft were being diverted from polar regions to avoid communications blackouts, there were power outages in some parts of Scandinavia and NASA reported a range of problems with their satellite fleet, 'ranging from temporary shut-downs to permanent damage,' O'Neill wrote.

What are the odds that we'll experience a "Halloween Storms Part 2" now, a decade later? Probably not great. So far this time around, most of the solar flares are pointing away from Earth, though two, coming from an especially active sunspot, are pointing toward us. Scientists say that if the activity in that region keeps up, it could cause a magnetic storm that messes with the weather here on Earth. Or it may just make for some more awesome-looking space storm photos.