Sun Blazes Most Powerful Solar Flare This July 2016 (Video)

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which monitors the sun regularly, captured the emission of the sun's three mid-level solar flares on July 22-23, 2016. The strongest flare raged at 1:16 A.M. EDT on July 23.

NASA officials explained that the sun is currently in a period of low activity, moving toward what's called solar minimum when there are few to no solar eruptions. These flares were the first large ones detected since April. They further explained that they are categorized as mid strength flares, substantially less intense that the most powerful solar flares.

Trio of solar flares! The sun emitted three mid-level solar flares on July 22 and 23, seen by @NASASunEarth. Watch:https://t.co/OEl1b3FMak

— NASA (@NASA) July 26, 2016

The solar flares are massive explosions on the sun. These flares send energy, light and high-speed particles into space. They are linked with solar magnetic storms, which are also called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The solar flares augment approximately every 11 years. The sun is now moving to another solar maximum, likely in 2013. This means there will be more solar flares coming. Some of them are small and some are big enough to send radiation to planet Earth, according to NASA.

The solar flares are categorized as M-level flares. The most intense flares are classified as X-class flares followed by the M-class flares. The number signifies the solar flare's strength. M3 is three times as intense as M1 and M2 is twice as intense as an M1.

The first solar flare that was instigated by the sub last July 22, 2016, was classified as M5.0 and peaked at 10:11 P.M. The second, which was the strongest was categorized as M7.6 and peaked at 1:16 A.M. EDT on July 23. The final blaze was M5.5 that peaked 15 minutes later at 1:31 A.M.EDT.