Nasa reveals recent ‘dramatic’ behavior on the Sun that poses risk to astronauts on ISS

NASA has shared a stunning image showing erratic solar flares erupting from the Sun.

While solar flares are regular, the recent activity has been particularly intense and may pose a threat to exposed astronauts.

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This is the fourth solar flare of 2022 to be graded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) as “strong” – the median ranking on the scale of intensity.

NOAA’s scale is based on x-rays expelled from the Sun – the next two rankings are “severe” and “extreme”.

Solar flares rated as strong or higher can cause communication blackouts here on Earth.

The Independent reported that the most intense solar flare ever observed was an extreme flare in 2003.

While 2022 hasn’t seen a solar flare quite as strong as 2003’s epic episode, the frequency of noticeable, strong solar flares is indicative of a natural shift in the Sun’s activity.

The Sun is approaching its solar maximum – a stage in the 11-year solar cycle where solar flares are at their most frequent.

Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field protects humans from the effects of solar flares, even if they’re intense enough to disturb our electrical grid.

Astronauts in space don’t have the same protections.

“You don’t want to be in space when [a solar flare] happens. It can ionize your atoms in your body,” Neil deGrasse Tyson said on Science Insider.

Exposure to a solar flare could “interfere with the functioning of your DNA,” Tyson added.

Astronauts are safe from solar flares while inside the confines of the ISS.

Phys.org reported that “most solar protons cannot pass through the hull of the Space Station,” and thanks to new methods of detection, we can predict solar flares before they happen.

Humans, specifically Elon Musk, have felt the wrath of the Sun and the effect space weather can have on off-world endeavors.

A geomagnetic storm caused by particles ejected from the Sun decimated a shipment of Starlink satellites on their way to orbit – 40 satellites were doomed at the cost of $250,000 a piece.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk