Nasa films captivating footage of intense solar flare

Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory has captured dramatic footage of a powerful X-class solar flare erupting on the surface of the Sun Nasa has captured mesmerising footage of a gigantic X-class solar flare erupting on the surface of the Sun. Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured the event sun on Dec 19. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however – when intense enough – they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare was classified as an X1.8-class flare – X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.