Sunspots can spew X-class solar flares! A geomagnetic storm is on the cards
With just five months to go until 2023, we’ve already seen harmful solar activity bombard the Earth. Just last month, the looming coronal mass ejection cloud, which erupted from a sunspot 20 times the size of Earth, hit the planet and triggered a terrifying solar storm. This was later declared the most destructive solar storm in six years. It was sudden and unexpected. Solar activity has been on the rise for the past few months and is expected to continue increasing until solar maximum, the period of greatest solar activity during the sun’s 11-year cycle.
Now a sunspot has been discovered on the Sun’s surface, which can trigger dangerous solar flares.
Danger of solar flares
According to a report by spaceweather.com, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorologists have spotted a sunspot, called AR3315, that can release dangerous solar energy. This sunspot is dangerous because it currently contains an unstable “beta-gamma-delta” magnetic field. Although this solar activity may seem harmless given the distance of the sun from our planet, it can cause serious damage. Due to the unstable nature of this sunspot, there is the possibility of not only M class but also X class solar flares!
The report also states that Class M flares have a 55% chance and Class X flares have a 10% chance of hitting the ground! In addition, this sunspot can also cause geomagnetic disturbances such as a geomagnetic storm because it is directly facing the planet. Since solar flares pass directly from the location of the flare, we can be affected if we see them.
How are solar flares classified?
According to NASA, solar flares are classified according to their intensity on a logarithmic scale, similar to how earthquakes are measured. The lowest is class A, which occurs near background levels, followed by B, C, M, and X. Similar to the Richter earthquake scale, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. So X is equal to ten times M and 100 times A C. Each letter class has a finer scale from 1 to 9.
Are Class X solar flares dangerous?
Class X solar flares can cause radiation storms that can not only damage satellites, but also give small doses of radiation to people traveling on airplanes at the time! Additionally, these destructive flares can disrupt global communications and bring down power grids, causing blackouts.
