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.

Travelling at around 650 kilometres per second, this CME is expected to shoot past Earth on Tuesday night, with parts…