SOLAR FLAREM6.4

M6.4 solar flare

Peak
Map: M6.4 solar flare

The Sun fired off a class M6.4 solar flare that peaked on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 15:10 UTC, from sunspot region 14549, 8° north and 54° west of center: the Sun’s western half, the side that is turning away from Earth. A flare this strong causes an R2 (moderate) radio blackout: high-frequency radio fades on the sunlit side of Earth, which at the time was centered on the point about 96 km (60 mi) west of Xinguara, Brazil, where the Sun was overhead. It also launched a coronal mass ejection (see the CME).

ClassM6.4
Radio blackoutR2 (moderate)
Began14:58 UTC
Peak15:10 UTC
Lasted22 min
Sunspot region14549
On the SunN08W54
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How flares are rated

Flares are classed A, B, C, M and X by their X-ray brightness, each letter ten times the one before; the number refines it, so an M5 is five times an M1, and an X1 ten times an M1. M and X flares can disturb radio and GPS on the sunlit side of Earth within minutes, because their light arrives at the speed of light.

Did you know?

The storm scale. NOAA rates geomagnetic storms from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). In a G5 storm, auroras have been seen as far south as Florida and southern Texas.

Data: NASA DONKI and NOAA GOES. Forecasts and alerts: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

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