Oct 26, 2013 11:26 AM EDT
Sun Emits Third Solar Flare in 2 Days (PHOTOS)

Two solar flares erupted from the sun on Oct. 25, the most recent occurring at approximately 4:01 a.m.

The last flare has been classified as an X1.7 class flare, according to NASA. The previous one, X 2.1, occurred at 11:03 a.m, and three have occured in the past two days overall.

"Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel," NASA said in a statement.

Click here to learn about current space weather conditions.  

When this happens, radio signals are usually disrupted for as long as the flare is going on. This could last from minutes to hours.

Experts aren't too worried about the increased number of flares however, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is near solar maximum conditions, according to NASA.

People have been tracking the current solar cycle continuously since it was first discovered back in 1843.

The first X-class fire of the current cycle was reported in February 2011, and the largest was an X6.9 in Aug. 2011.

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