by AR3664 is no ordinary sunspot.
The behemoth dark patch on the sun’s surface has emerged in recent days, becoming one of the largest and most active. sun spots to see this solar cycle.
AR3664 caught the attention of scientists earlier this week when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning about an increased risk of a solar flare from the solar giant on Tuesday (May 7).
“Region 3664 has greatly expanded and is much more complex magnetically,” NOAA’s SWPC reports. “This is the result of an increase in the probability of a solar flare in the coming days.”
The huge sunspot has more than expected. Numerous powerful solar flares have fired in the past few days, including a massive X-class solar flare this morning (May 9), peaking at 5:13 a.m. EDT (0913 GMT).
Related: The sun explodes in a burst of powerful solar flares from hyperactive sunspots (video)
Solar flares they are eruptions from the sun’s surface that emit intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. They are categorized by size into lettered groups, with class X being the most powerful. Then there are M-class flares which are 10 times less powerful than X-class flares, followed by C-class flares which are 10 times weaker than M-class flares, B class is 10 times weaker than C-class flares and finally. , A-class flares, which are 10 times weaker than B-class flares and are without any significant consequences in the world. Within each class, numbers from 1-10 (and beyond for X-class flares) describe the relative strength of flares.
The X-flare occurred this morning at X 2.25 according to spaceweatherlive.com, measured by NASA’s GOES-16 satellite.
Radio slots
Powerful solar flares like the one observed this morning can cause shortwave radio blackouts on the sunward side World at the time of the eruption. Thus, the X-flare this morning caused shortwave radio blackouts across Europe and Africa as seen in the image above.
The radio blackouts are due to the strong pulse of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted during the eruption.
The radiation travels towards the Earth at the speed of light and ionizes (gives it an electric charge) a top The Earth’s Atmosphere. (Note: these ionizing X-rays are not to be confused with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) through which plasma bursts and magnetic fields the suntraveling at slower speeds, often taking several days to reach Earth).
This ionization creates a high-density environment for the high-frequency shortwave radio signals to pass through to support long-distance communication. The radio waves that interact with electrons the ionized layers will lose energy due to more frequent collisions, which can degrade or completely absorb radio signals. NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
Sunspot visible from Earth
Sprawling out at nearly 124,000 (200,000 kilometers) from end to end, sunspot AR3664 is currently 15 times wider than our home planet, according to Spaceweather.com.
It is so large that it can be seen from Earth without the need for magnification. If you still have a pair solar eclipse glasses lying around after the April 8 total solar eclipse, you can use them to safely look at the sun and see the giant sunspot across the solar disk.
But remember DO NOT look at the sun without proper sun protection. You can learn how to observe the sun safely with our help A guide to solar observation.
Related stories:
– 2 huge solar flares erupt from the sun and Earth is in the firing line (video)
— NASA prepares for intense solar storms on Mars during solar maximum
— There is a wild weather of sun falling satellites. It’s getting worse.
Carrington sun spot competition
The large size Sunspot AR3664 rivals the Carrington 1859 sunspot, as shown in the image from Spaceweather.com. The Carrington sunspot is famous for its explosive eruption between August and September 1859, when it released a series of powerful solar flares and CMEs, which ignited large geomagnetic storms and excited telegraph offices. auraras as close to the equator as Cuba and Hawaii.
Read more: The Carrington Event: The largest solar storm in history
even though studies show Carrington class solar storms occur every 40 to 60 years or so (and we are long overdue), there is no evidence that any CMEs currently en route from previous solar eruptions this week could cause a Carrington Event new, according to Spaceweather.com.
Scientists are keeping a close eye on this ever-expanding sunspot as it faces Earth.
