A radiation wave kicked up by the eruption of a powerful solar flare late Sunday (March 4) will likely miss the Earth, but could catch several NASA satellites in its crosshairs, scientists say.
The radiation concern stems from an X1.1-class flare (the strongest type of sun storm) that blasted from the surface of the sun last night at 11:13 p.m. EST (0413 GMT March 5). The flare unleashed a cloud of charged particles, called a coronal mass ejection (CME).