After a period of unexpected calm, the sun is active again!
A sunspot unleashed an intense X2-class solar flare on May, 5 2015, shown in the following image by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory:
![X2-class solar flare, X2-class solar flare may 5 2015, x flare may 5 2015, solar storm, solar flare may 2015](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/x-flare.jpg)
This X2-flare triggered a strong radio blackout for frequencies below 20 MHz over the Pacific side of Earth as shown in the map below:
![radio blackout x-flare may 2015, x2-flare radio black-out may 5 2015, x-flare radio blackout 2015, X2-class solar flare, X2-class solar flare may 5 2015, x flare may 5 2015, solar storm, solar flare may 2015](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/radio-blackout-x-flare-may-2015.jpg)
This video presents the intense CME that hurled into space at more than 1100 km/s (2.5 million mph), but not heading for Earth:
Finally, the flare also caused a radio burst ressembling a roar very intricate if listened to with headphones:
This weird sound was produced by electrons generating a ripple of radio-loud plasma waves when they travelled through the sun’s atmosphere.