MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. A total of 12 solar flares of the highest M-and X-class were registered on February 3, the Institute of Applied Geophysics (IPG) told TASS.

The first solar flares occurred just a few minutes after midnight, the last was registered at around 9:00 p.m. Moscow time (6:00 p.m. GMT). In all, 11 M-class and one X1.5-class solar flares were registered in the reported period.

Solar flares are divided into five classes according to their X-ray strength: the smallest ones are A-class, followed by B, C, M and X. A0.0 class is equal to the radiation energy found in the Earth’s orbit, 10 nanowatts per square meter. Each letter stands for a 10-fold increase in energy output. As a rule, the flares, known as giant explosions on the sun, send solar plasma into space, and the clouds of these charged particles can bring about geomagnetic storms when reaching the Earth.