On Saturday, February 11, a powerful solar flare exploded above the sun, knocking out radio frequencies in parts of Earth and setting the stage for more flares. The massive solar flare, recorded as a powerful X1.1 event on the scale used for such solar storms, peaked at 10:48 pm ET (3:48 pm GMT), according to the US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). Saturday. The center said it originates from a region of the Sun called Active Zone 3217, creating a temporary radio blackout over South America. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a stunning video of a solar flare.

“More glare is expected in this region as the sun moves through it, sometimes disrupting high frequency (3-30 MHz) communications,” SWPC officials said in a statement (opens in new tab).

Solar flares are large bursts of charged particles of varying intensity on the Sun, with smaller class A and C flares marking relatively minor events, and stronger class M flares that can amplify the auroras we see on Earth. Class X is the strongest type of solar flare. The strongest X-class flare ever recorded occurred in 2003 and was recorded as the X28 flare before it overpowered the space weather sensors measuring it.

Intense solar flares can eject huge amounts of solar material, which scientists call a coronal mass ejection (CME), capable of ejecting massive clouds of solar plasma from the sun at speeds of up to 1 million miles per hour. The most powerful solar flares and CMEs aimed directly at Earth can disrupt communications systems, power plants, and even endanger astronauts and satellites in space.

According to Spaceweather.com, which tracks space weather events, there was no CME associated with Saturday’s X1.1 solar flare. The site added that the CME was observed as the result of another event — the eruption of the solar filament from the Sun’s northern hemisphere. This eruption hurled a CME toward Earth, which is expected to reach Earth on February 14 and could result in more intense aurora.