A HUGE sunspot has been spotted emitting solar flares that could affect Earth’s geomagnetic and frequency levels.
Recent activity has made it one of the largest active sunspots of this solar cycle, which lasts around 11 years and is said to be the size of 15 Earths.
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The sunspot is called AR3664 and, being 15 times the size of Earth, it is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye from our planet, Live Science reported.
If you have a pair of solar eclipse glasses on hand, you can use them to glimpse sunspots.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center upgraded a geomagnetic solar storm warning from a moderate level 3 to a severe level 4 on Thursday.
“Timepieces of this level are very rare,” NOAA said, Weather Fox reported.
“This is an unusual event.”
O NOAA estimated that a strong solar storm cloud will hit Earth on May 10 and 11.
Geomagnetic storm can disrupt GPS and satellite communication and cause radio blackouts.
Professor Peter Becker of George Mason University explained that there is only little warning as to when the solar storms will reach Earth after the flares begin.
“We can tell when they will actually head toward Earth,” Becker said, Fox Weather reported.
“And that gives us about 18 hours of warning, maybe 24 hours of warning, before these particles actually get to Earth and start messing with Earth’s magnetic field.”
NASA describes a sunspot as “areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun,” according to its report. website.
“They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface.
“Solar flares are a sudden burst of energy caused by the entanglement, crossing, or rearrangement of magnetic field lines near sunspots.”
RECORD SIZE SUNSPOT
Sunspot AR3664 is so large that it compares in size to the 1859 Carrington sunspot, Space Weather reported.
The Carrington sunspot resulted in “geomagnetic storms that set fire to telegraph offices and triggered auroras from Cuba to Hawaii,” Space Weather said.
There are fears that an “Internet apocalypse” will repeat itself, the media outlet added.
The CME waves emitted by AR3664 will not be as strong as Carrington’s and are not expected to cause excessive problems.
What is a solar flare?
- A solar flare is a sudden, intense burst of energy observed on the surface of the Sun.
- They are often accompanied by a release of magnetic energy, resulting in the brightening of a localized area of the Sun.
- Solar flares can emit various forms of electromagnetic radiation, including X-rays and ultraviolet light.
- They typically occur near sunspots, regions of intense magnetic activity on the Sun’s surface.
- Solar flares can have significant effects on Earth’s space environment, causing geomagnetic storms, disruptions to satellite communications and potentially affecting electrical grids.
However, there may be some special views of the Northern Lights from AR3664.
People in California, Oklahoma, Alabama and Virginia were able to see the Northern Lights this weekend following the event.
This current solar cycle is expected to peak in the coming months or even the next few years, according to NOAA.
There were also prominent solar flares that occurred on April 23.
Four solar flares caused a rare superflare and it was caught on tape.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
