The Sun has released a massive solar flare , causing radio blackouts in some parts of the world, as well as forecasts for Northern Lights tonight. The solar flare erupted from a sunspot region known as AR4436 on Sunday, which is actively rotating to face Earth. Classified as an M5.8-class flare, it is powerful enough to cause noticeable space weather events. The initial burst of electromagnetic radiation, which travels at the speed of light, triggered a moderate radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean and parts of eastern Africa, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This caused a temporary disruption of high-frequency radio communications, mostly impacting aviators and mariners. The solar flare also blew a hole in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, something known as a coronal mass ejection ( CME ), launching a cloud of magnetized solar plasma into space.…