Enormous Sunspot, 10 Times Wider than Earth, Poses Threat of M-Class Solar Flares
In recent months, the Earth has experienced several occurrences of X-class solar flares, which are the most powerful flares capable of causing prolonged radiation storms. In December, two alarming instances of X-class solar flares occurred, with one resulting in a three-day radio blackout in the polar regions. Currently, there is a new concern regarding a massive sunspot on the solar surface that could potentially release M-class solar flares towards Earth. Stay informed about this impending solar storm threat.
Danger of solar storm
According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sunspot AR3559 tripled in size over the weekend and is now 10 times the width of Earth! It has more than 12 dark cores. NASA says you only need eclipse glasses to see this giant dark spot on the surface of the Sun! The same sunspot also has an unstable “beta-gamma” magnetic field and contains the energy to produce powerful M-class solar flares and solar storms.
A SpaceWeather report says: “A large sunspot is turning toward Earth. AR3559 tripled in size over the weekend, growing 10 times the width of Earth with more than a dozen dark cores. An unstable ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field makes AR3559 a threat to powerful M-class solar flares.”
The solar flare threat was detected by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. If it strikes, a solar storm could soon be upon us.
About the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory
The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) uses three very important instruments to gather information about various solar activities. They include the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), which measures high-resolution longitudinal and vector magnetic fields across the entire visible solar disk, the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), which measures the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet radiation, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), which provides continuous disk-wide observations of the Sun of the chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.
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