Earth braces for blackouts after an X-class solar flare

Could this be the perfect geo-storm?

October is off to a hot start: The sun unleashed a massive Class

The supercharged sunburst erupted from sunspot AR3842 on Tuesday evening.

It clocked in at X7.1, making it the second most powerful in the past seven years, behind the monstrous X8.7 magnitude in May, LiveScience reported.

This also caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) – when plasma and magnetic particles erupt from the sun’s surface – which will hit Earth around 4 p.m. on Friday, according to Spaceweather.com.

When this happens, meteorologists predict it will enter Earth’s magnetic field, causing a strong geomagnetic storm of the G3 class – the third most powerful category after G4 and G5.

These phenomena have the potential to affect navigation systems, power grids and even satellite communications, Space.com reported.

They also boost aurora displays, meaning these natural light shows are often seen much further south than is normal.

The solar flare was one of two eruptions from sunspot AR3842 fired this week.

The other was a flare from the M class – the second most powerful class – on Monday evening.

The effects of this eruption caused a temporary radio blackout over large parts of the Pacific Ocean, especially Hawaii.

Fortunately, meteorologists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center have reported no Earth-bound CMEs produced by this eruption, Space.com reported.