Recently, the 8,300-degree surface of the sun has been extremely active, producing a sometimes earth-disrupting phenomenon known as a solar flare.

Gilbert Sebenste, an NIU meteorologist and solar physics instructor, observed these occurrences and said that although they’re amazing to see, they still can negatively affect the Earth’s communication systems and weather.

“In the past, the extreme storms have caused disruptions in the Earth’s magnetic field with the sun, with blackouts and power outages,” he said, adding that although recent solar flares have been less extreme, they have still interfered with radio signals.

Occurring from last Thursday through Monday, the flares were visible in the sky from different places all over the world.

“Last Thursday, a very powerful solar flare erupted and sent a coronal mass ejection toward Earth,” Sebenste said. “It usually takes a day to reach the earth’s atmosphere, and when it does, you can view sheets of green, blue and red within the Northern Lights.”

Sebenste said although it’s unclear what causes these occurrences, they are associated with the magnetic field of the sun, the solar maximum and sunspots.

Every 11 years the sun undergoes a period of activity called the solar maximum, followed by a period of quiet called the solar minimum. During the solar maximum, there are many sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

“There is a specific time when these flares can occur, and when they do it is mostly a result of a major sunspot that has been developed,” Sebenste said.

According to the solar physics branch of the NASA Web site at www.nasa.gov, one way we track this solar activity is by observing the cooler areas of the sun known as sunspots. They appear as blemishes on the face of the sun, but form below its surface. In a matter of just a few minutes, solar flares heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT.

Sebenste said that Monday morning’s solar flares were some of the brightest and best in years, but it was far too cloudy to see them in Northern Illinois.

“Despite the fact that this is some of the greatest activity we have seen in awhile, the weather has been too poor for observation,” he said. “They were, however, seen brightly down in New Mexico and Texas. In Phoenix, they were so intense that there were hundreds of 911 calls.”

Sebenste said that this magnificent sky activity isn’t over yet, and if the weather cooperates, residents of Northern Illinois might see the spectrum.

“Possibly late Tuesday or Wednesday more solar flares will occur and if it is not cloudy, people around here might be lucky enough to see it,” he said.