A solar flare, captured by a NASA telescope, has caused the largest disruption in radio communication on Earth in recent years.

On Thursday, the sun emitted a large flare and powerful radio burst, resulting in two hours of radio disruption in certain areas of the United States and other sunlit regions. Experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that this was the largest flare since 2017 and the radio interference was widespread, impacting even the higher frequencies.

On Friday, Shawn Dahl from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center stated that the combination produced one of the biggest solar radio events on record.

According to the space weather forecasting center, numerous pilots experienced communication disturbances that were felt throughout the country.

Researchers are currently observing a sunspot area and investigating the potential release of plasma from the sun, also referred to as a coronal mass ejection. There is a chance that this could be aimed towards Earth, potentially causing a geomagnetic storm. This could then lead to disruption of high-frequency radio waves in the northern latitudes and potentially trigger auroras, or northern lights, in the upcoming days.

The explosion took place in the distant northwest area of the sun. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the event using extreme ultraviolet light, documenting the intense burst of energy as a massive, luminous flash. Launched in 2010, the satellite is in a highly elevated orbit around Earth, where it continuously observes the sun.

The sun is approaching the apex of its approximately 11-year solar cycle, with expectations of reaching maximum sunspot activity in 2025.