Sun Emits Mid-Level M5.2 Solar Flare

A mid-level solar flare was emitted from the Sun late Monday night, NASA reported. The solar event, which was graded as an M5.2, began at 11:57 p.m. EST and peaked at midnight.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center reported a limited blackout of high frequency radio communication for tens of minutes. NOAA also forecasted a 25 percent chance of "polar geomagnetic storms" on Tuesday, when a coronal mass ejection (CME) is predicted to influence Earth's magnetic field. The glancing impact could spark auroras around the Arctic Circle, according to SpaceWeather.com.

A solar flare is observed as a sudden brightening over the Sun's surface and is typically accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME). The ejection releases solar wind containing huge quantities of electrons and protons.

According to SpaceWeather.com, NOAA forecasts an 80 percent chance of M-flares and a 50 percent chance of X-flares for Tuesday.

M-class flares are graded between M1.0 and M9.9. They are the weakest type of solar flare that can cause space weather effects near Earth.

X-class solar flares, which are a level above M-class, are the most intense category of solar flares.

The impact of harmful radiation from a flare is sometimes felt can in the form of a disturbance of radio and GPS signals. Otherwise, the flares effects go largely unnoticed by humans.

The most powerful solar flare of 2013 was rated X3.3. It occurred on November 5 and did not cause any adverse effects on Earth except for a wide-area blackout of high frequency signals for about an hour.