2006: X-Ray sun flare for XmasĪ view of SpaceX's first 60 Starlink satellites in orbit, still in stacked configuration, with the Earth as a brilliant blue backdrop on May 23, 2019. According to NASA, 17 major flares (opens in new tab) erupted from the sun during this time. The Halloween storms were particularly scary as they occurred during a time in the solar cycle when solar activity should be relatively quiet - about two to three years after the solar maximum. The sensor topped out at X28, already a massive flare), but later analysis found that the flare reached a peak strength of about X45, NASA has said. The flare was so intense it overwhelmed the spacecraft sensor measuring it. 28, 2003, the sun unleashed a whopper of a solar flare. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) temporarily failed during the solar onslaught.

(Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) (opens in new tab)įrom October through November 2003, the sun unleashed a barrage of powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections that slammed into Earth's atmosphere.ĭubbed the 'Halloween Storms of 2003' by NASA (opens in new tab) these solar storms caused aircraft to be re-routed, affected satellite systems and caused power outages in Sweden. An animated gif showing the eruption of an X-class solar flare during the busy 'Halloween storms of 2003'.

Big weather events in 2006