NASA SDO Detects Solar Flares: Get Ready for Aurora-Sparking Storms!
As the peak of solar cycle 25 approaches, the Sun has become increasingly unstable and its activity is projected to intensify. Surpassing initial predictions, the current solar cycle has already witnessed a greater number of sunspots. In the upcoming weeks and months, Earth may encounter CMEs, solar flares, solar storms, and other particles that could potentially lead to catastrophic outcomes.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which houses a full suite of instruments for observing the sun, has recently revealed that Earth may be in the line of fire of a sunspot, and dangerous solar flares may be ejected. potential to wreak havoc.
A dangerous sunspot
According to a report by spaceweather.com, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) predicts that a region of the Sun’s surface called Sunspot AR3483 has a “beta-gamma” magnetic field that could trigger an M-class solar flare. Even though the sunspot is shrinking, it still has enough power to spread the flares.
The report states: “The outgoing sunspot AR3483 has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that contains energy for M-class solar flares. For the uninitiated, M-class solar flares are moderate in intensity and can cause blackouts and radio interference.”
These flares are classified according to their intensity on a logarithmic scale, similar to how earthquakes are measured. The smallest are the A-class, which occur near background levels, followed by B, C, and M, while the X-class flares are the most powerful.
How do solar flares affect technology?
Like asteroids, solar flares also pose a threat to Earth. Strong solar flares can cause power and radio outages for several hours or even days, create aurora borealis, give people on airplanes radiation doses, and even affect elections! Technical equipment is particularly at risk during flaring. This is because when cosmic rays hit the earth, they release various particles such as energetic neutrons, muons, pions and alpha particles. Although these particles do not affect the human body, they also pass through integrated circuits and cause damage, often altering data stored in memory.
