The Sun Just Unleashed The Most Powerful Kind Of Solar Flare And It Has MAJOR Effects On Your Mood, Health & Personality
Prepare for some major swings.
Astronomy Now If you thought fires, category 5 hurricanes and major floods were the only weather emergencies you had to worry about, think again.
As the southern coast has been preparing itself for the wrath Hurricane Irma is supposed to bring (just days after Hurricane Harvey left Texas in mass destruction), the sun decided to unleash the most powerful category of solar flare.
The sun erupted on Wednesday morning and again in the afternoon sending what scientists call "coronal mass ejections," or CMEs, toward the earth. A coronal mass ejection is "a huge explosion of magnetic field and plasma from the sun's corona," explains Mark Torregrossa, a Michigan meteorologist.
This phenomenon that can interfere with radio and satellite communications as it passes by Earth. (A.K.A, just what we needed.)
For those of you like me who don't know all that much about space, a solar flare is a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun that can cause electromagnetic disturbances on earth.
These two flares, in particular, are the strongest ones we've seen in a decade, belonging to the ominous-sounding "X-class" of flares. Which is the most powerful kind possible.
NASA's Space Weather Prediction Centre reported that the flare this morning knocked out radio communications with Earth, which led to blackouts and loss of contact for up to an hour. Most of the problems were on the "sunlit side of Earth."
But that's not the only thing this major flare could mess up.
Scientists have noticed correlations between solar flares and people's moods. They say the solar storms can desynchronize our biological clocks and effect a gland in our brain that controls sleep.
So if you feel super sleepy right now, blame the sun.
It's throwing your internal clock all out of whack.
The solar flare can also cause headaches, palpitations, mood swings, and just a general feeling of being unwell. Your thinking feelings confused and chaotic and there's a chance of increased erratic behavior.
In other words, it's a real fun time.
Some people who are very into the impacts solar flares have theorized that this intense flare is "apocalyptic" and could ramp up Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose. But scientists haven't confirmed what the combination of both could do.
But in the mean time, if you're been feeling annoyed, tired or just off lately, it's not you.
It's just the sun.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, dating, relationships and everything in between. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).