The sun struck Earth with two powerful X-class solar flares in the past few days.
So when high-energy solar radiation strikes, it can cause those radio signals to degrade.
But a strong solar maximum can cause extreme space weather events, including back-to-back X-class solar flares like what recently occurred.
This year's X-class solar flares have been on the lower end of the intensity spectrum, with the biggest, an X2.2, occurring in February.
While this year's flares have routinely affected radio signals, a solar flare of X28 — like the one detected in 2003 — would be incredibly destructive for Earth's technology.
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