NASA HAS RELEASED footage of a powerful solar flare spotted earlier this month.

The X-Class flare, with a rating of 1.8, was seen on the evening of December 19th by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Solar flares are bursts of radiation, and result in Northern Lights here on Earth.

They also have the potential to disrupt communication satellites.

This X1.8 flare resulted in radio blackouts for parts of Earth, Space.com reports.

In 1859, a solar storm was powerful enough to wreak havoc on telegraph equipment.

Earth had a near-miss with a powerful flare in 2012. It passed through the path taken by the planet (thankfully, we weren’t in that bit of space at the time), and could have caused trillions of euro worth of damage

Pic: The Northern Lights captured in Donegal >

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This solar flare put on a better show than any Christmas lights

Pic: The Northern Lights captured in Donegal >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.