The Nation : More Solar Flares Erupt After Big Blast

More large solar flares, each with the potential to disrupt radio transmissions and trigger aurora borealis, have erupted on the sun in the wake of an unusually large blast, researchers at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico said. A blast 36 times the size of Earth that occurred last Thursday on the sun’s northeast quadrant was possibly the largest ever recorded, researchers said. Staff Sgt. Leroy Kirkegard said that the huge eruption of gas from the surface of the sun was followed by another large explosion the next morning and three more the following day. He said the flare Thursday measured a 4-brilliant rating, while the blast Friday measured a 3-brilliant. Flares that are big enough to disrupt radio transmissions are rated by astronomers from zero-brilliant to 4-brilliant.