Warning: Earth could experience radio blackouts this week as NASA captures dark plasma eruption from the sun

NASA has detected a dark plasma eruption on the sun, and there is a 60% chance it could cause a power outage on Earth this week.

The temperature of a cold solar flare is about 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit (F), which is about a quarter of the temperature of a “warm” solar flare, which averages 144,000 degrees F and is much better understood by scientists.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an alert on Monday warning that this dark plasma pulse could lead to “power grid disruptions.”

The flare is likely to disrupt radio communications, aviation communications and satellite operations when it reaches its target by at least Friday.

NASA video from Solar Dynamics Observatory A NASA image shows a dark cloud of cold solar flare shooting out from the sun, creating what looks like black smoke as this cooler plasma shoots from the northern midpoint to the sun's surface.

So-called “cold” solar flares – which have only been the subject of serious study by astrophysicists in the past decade – appear to be No less high in microwave radiation From just a “warm” solar flare.

According to a 2023 study, these low-temperature solar flares were found to produce “Higher peak frequencies of gyrosynchrotron emission“, which is the exact form of radiation responsible for the intense and disturbing radio emissions of the flare.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there is a 60 percent chance of more mid-level or M-class solar flares in the next 24 hours — and a 15 percent chance of a more extreme X-class flare, which could cause radio outages around the world.

But this latest M-class solar flare erupted from a sunspot region called AR3757 late Sunday.

Specifically, the glow was an M1, which is on the low end of the 10-point scale within the mid-M range.

Solar flares are divided into four classes arranged by letter according to their intensity: X-class flares are the most intense, followed by M, C, and weaker B-class flares.

Only X- and M-flares radiate energy strong enough to affect Earth, where their electromagnetic pulses can cause communications and power outages.

Over the past 24 hours, at least six M-class solar flares have caused radio disruptions globally, including one M1-class flare that caused radio outages in parts of the Western Hemisphere, and three in Asia.

The largest of these was an M3.2 missile that knocked out radio communications in the Pacific Ocean late Sunday, according to Space Weather Forecasting Center of the University of Athens.

Experts have warned that Earth will face increasingly severe solar storms over the next year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also noted that there is a 60 percent chance of more mid-level or M-class solar flares in the next 24 hours — and a 15 percent chance of more extreme X-class flares, which could cause radio blackouts around the world. Above is an image of the sun taken by NASA on July 22

The sun has not yet reached its “solar maximum,” the most active point in its 11-year solar cycle, when greater disturbances increase its energy output, Smithsonian astrophysicist Dr. Jonathan McDowell told the Daily Mail in May.

This “maximum” will finally peak in the summer heat of next year: in July 2025.

“We could easily see much larger storms in the next year or two,” said Dr. McDowell, who works with the Smithsonian Institution and the Harvard Center for Astrophysics.

“It's definitely a scary time for satellite operators,” he added.

“This is when most sunspots appear and start to grow larger,” agrees Dean Pesnell, project scientist at NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

But “with AR3738 out of view, the sun may settle down a bit,” for a few days to a week, Pesnell told DailyMail.com earlier in July.

At the 2019 “solar minimum,” the number of sunspots visible on the Sun’s surface was virtually zero, but at the next maximum in July 2025, National Space Weather Prediction Center It has been estimated that there may be as many as 115 sunspots.

These dense magnetic regions of disturbance on the Sun's surface produce solar flares and more powerful “coronal mass ejections” (CME) explosions of plasma.

While the 11-year solar cycle increases the total radiation emitted by the Sun by a deceptive 0.1 percent, this increase is largely concentrated in sunspot activity.

Last May, the 173,000 terawatts (trillions of watts) of solar power hitting the ground continuously knocked out farmers' GPS satellites and grounded farming equipment across the Midwest.

“I’ve never dealt with anything like this before,” Patrick O’Connor, who owns a farm about a 90-minute drive south of Minneapolis, told The New York Times.

Currently, the only way space weather experts can predict when a major solar storm will occur is by tracking the path of sunspots.

“If you watch a sunspot orbiting the sun, which we call an ‘active region,’ you’re going to see that sunspot, and it’s going to be facing Earth in a couple of days,” Dr. McDowell said in May. “So if it burps, we could be in trouble.”

“So there is a certain level of prediction possible. We are working on improving that,” he added.

What is the solar cycle?

The Sun is a huge ball of hot, electrically charged gas that moves, generating a powerful magnetic field.

This magnetic field undergoes a cycle called the solar cycle.

Every 11 years or so, the Sun's magnetic field completely flips, meaning the Sun's north and south poles swap places.

The solar cycle affects activity on the Sun's surface, such as sunspots caused by the Sun's magnetic fields.

Every 11 years, the Sun's magnetic field flips, meaning the Sun's north and south poles switch places. The solar cycle affects activity on the Sun's surface, increasing the number of sunspots during its strongest phase (2001) compared to its weakest phase (1996/2006).

One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots.

The solar cycle begins with a solar minimum, or when the number of sunspots on the Sun is at its lowest. Over time, solar activity — and the number of sunspots — increases.

The middle of the solar cycle is the maximum of solar activity, or when the Sun has the greatest number of sunspots.

When the cycle ends, it fades back to a minimum of solar activity and then a new cycle begins.

Giant explosions on the Sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, also increase during the solar cycle.

These explosions send powerful jets of energy and material into space that can have effects on Earth.

For example, volcanic eruptions can cause lights to appear in the sky, called aurora borealis, or affect radio communications and power grids on Earth.