NASA Warns of Possible M-Class Solar Flares from Sunspot

Solar flares, similar to asteroids, pose a danger to Earth. Powerful solar flares can lead to power and radio disruptions lasting for hours or even days, trigger auroras, expose airplane passengers to radiation, and potentially impact elections. Technological devices are particularly vulnerable during these flares. This is because when cosmic rays hit our planet, they release various particles such as energetic neutrons, muons, pions, and alpha particles. While these particles do not harm humans directly, they can penetrate integrated circuits and cause damage, often altering stored data. As the solar maximum approaches in the coming years, the Sun’s activity is expected to increase, potentially resulting in more solar flares.

Using the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), NASA has announced that a dangerous M-class solar flare may reach Earth.

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 AR3460 has a “beta-gamma” magnetic field that can trigger solar flares. There is a possibility that M class solar flares will soon hit Earth.

It states: “Sunspot AR3460 has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that contains the energy for M-class solar flares. This sunspot has been observed for the past week due to increased solar activity. Spaceweather reported on October 11 that the sunspot had multiple magnetic poles with positive and in the immediate vicinity of the negative poles.At that time the sunspot had a strong delta charge.

“This could lead to magnetic reconnection and a powerful, Earth-directed solar flare,” the report continued.

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 full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.