The US space agency NASA has said that its solar observation satellite Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) has observed the largest solar flare since its launch.
The solar observation satellite observed the output of energy from the sun in spectrums that are invisible to the naked eye, particularly x-rays and light particles.
A solar flare is a large burst of x-ray and light energy coming from the sun that streams out into space. Scientists have been investigating about their cause for long but still unclear. However, they credit fluctuations in the magnetic field of the sun responsible for shaping and directing the flow of hot plasma and solar material that compose the star.
Solar flares affects living creatures on Earth as it increases the risk of sunburns, scrambling cell phone calls and sometimes knocking out wireless networks entirely.
IRIS uses complex computer imaging software, that includes spectrograph and wide range temperature sensors, to collect information on solar plumes and track their energy gaining pattern from the core of the sun to its outer edges.
The IRIS was launched by Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics. NASA was in charge of mission operations and data management.
The scientists across the globe are trying hard to learn more and more about the inner layers of the sun, their composition, how the layers react to each other, their densities, velocities, and temperatures of wavelengths. This will allow scientists to have a more refine information on recommended exposure limits for humans to potential radiation damage for electronics and networks.