An image depicting a solar flare (Archive photo)
A new solar flare of M-class has been recorded, marking the fourth such event in August, according to data from the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Analysis of the laboratory`s charts indicates that this M-class flare occurred in solar region 4168 at 05:00 Moscow time on August 5th, and it lasted for 26 minutes.
This latest event is the fourth flare observed in the current month. The first significant flare, classified as M2.9, was recorded on August 3rd, and it stood as the most powerful burst on the Sun in a month and a half. Subsequently, two additional M-class flares, with strengths of M1.4 and M2.0 respectively, took place on August 4th. All these recent flares originated from the same active solar region.
As reported by the laboratory`s website at the time of this publication, no new solar flares were actively observed.
Despite the Sun having passed its peak activity cycle and currently being in a declining phase, the head of the laboratory, Sergei Bogachev, cautioned in a recent interview that Earth could still experience unexpected and highly powerful solar flares, potentially leading to geomagnetic storms, over the next four years.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth