[Regnum] A powerful M7.1 solar flare occurred on the Sun. The Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported this on its website on December 31.
According to the report, the flare's power was approximately 70% of the highest X-class threshold, and its peak was recorded at 4:51 PM Moscow time. Scientists assigned this flare the second-to-highest power class (M), making it the most powerful in the past three weeks. Eight other normal solar flares (class C) also occurred on the same day.
However, experts believe the likelihood of magnetic storms and bright auroras on New Year's Eve itself is low due to the significant distance of the active regions of the Sun from the Sun-Earth line.