Early Tuesday (May 13th), the sun unleashed a powerful X-class solar flare from a newly emerging sunspot region AR4087.
The eruption peaked at 4:25 a.m. EDT (0825 GMT), triggering strong R3-level radio blackouts across Europe, Asia and the Middle East — the sunlit side of Earth at the time — as sunspot region 2087 crackles with activity.
Strongest solar flare of 2025 erupts from sun, sparking radio blackouts across Europe, Asia and the Middle East
X2.7-class eruption from sunspot AR4087 disrupts radio signals as the active region rotates toward Earth, raising the risk of more flares ahead.
By Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com - May 14, 2025
https://www.space.com/astronomy/sun/strongest-solar-flare-of-2025-erupts-from-sun-sparking-radio-blackouts-europe-asia-middle-east
… There may have been an associated coronal mass ejection (CME) — massive plumes of solar plasma and magnetic field accompanying the X-flare, though it is yet to be confirmed. CMEs can spark geomagnetic storms and vibrant auroras if they collide with Earth’s magnetic field. But with AR4087 still near the sun’s edge, our planet is out of the line of fire. For now. That may change soon as AR4087 is rotating toward Earth and has already fired off multiple solar flares.
“This is getting intense, especially as this active region turns closer into view. This same AR just produced an M5.3 flare a few hours ago,” aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina wrote in a post on X. “What does this AR have planned over the next days … we’ll have to wait and see.” ….