Strong Flare Erupts From Sun
The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 1:09 p.m. EST on Jan. 18, 2026. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured video of the event.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this video
of a solar flare — visible as a bright flash near the center left of the Sun —
on Jan. 18, 2026. The video opens with observations from the spacecraft’s
Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 131-angstrom wavelength channel, which
captures a narrow band of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the
extremely hot material in solar flares. This view is colorized in teal. The
timestamp in the upper right is shown in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which
is five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. In the second part of the video,
the flare is shown simultaneously in three wavelengths, from left to right:
131, 171, and 304 angstroms. These channels are colorized in teal, gold, and
red, respectively. The video ends with a full screen view of the AIA
171-angstrom channel.
<em>NASA/SDO</em>
Solar flares are powerful bursts of
energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric
power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and
astronauts.
This flare is classified as an X1.9
flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more
information about its strength.
To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.
