NASA Instrument Catches The Moment Sun Burps Out Another Massive X-Class Flare [Watch]

The Sun burped out another X-Class solar flare, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured the stunning moment.

The Sun emitted a solar flare that peaked at 5:47 p.m. ET on Tuesday, NASA announced in a news release. It was a massive event, classified by the agency as an X1.0 flare, and the SDO's "unblinking eye" captured the moment of the eruption.

The agency shared imagery of the event on Twitter. In the GIF, one can see the bright flash of the recent solar flare on the upper left side of the Sun.

This solar flare came just about 24 hours after another one, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

The previous one was an X1.9 flare at 1:50 p.m. ET on Monday. It came from spot complex Region 3184, which was also "likely" responsible for yet another X-class flare (X1.2) on Jan. 5, the SWPC noted. The most recent flare, by contrast, came from Region 3186.

This makes for three massive X-Class solar flares just a few days into the new year. NASA also shared stunning imagery of the X-Class solar flare that occurred on Monday and on Jan. 5.

Both imageries were captured by the SDO.

X-Class flares are considered the "most intense" flares, with the numbers giving further information about their strength.

The strongest solar flare observed was an X28+ flare in 2003 that was so strong that the sensors measuring it got overloaded and cut measurements at X28.

"The biggest X-class flares are by far the largest explosions in the solar system and are awesome to watch," NASA noted.

Indeed, as shown in the SDO imageries above, they can be rather mesmerizing. And it's possible that more will follow as the large active regions "come into view" as the week goes along, according to Space.com.

But why do scientists keep tabs on solar flares?

If directed at our planet, these events and the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) associated with them may cause "long-lasting radiation storms" that can impact various systems such as satellites, communication systems and even power grids. They may also pose risks for astronauts.

"NASA works as a research arm of the nation's space weather effort," the agency noted. "NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun's activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth."