A huge “sunspot archipelago” could bombard us with solar flares
- November 22, 2023
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One of the largest and most densely populated regions of sunspots observed in more than a decade has emerged from Earth near the Sun and began unleashing a
One of the largest and most densely populated regions of sunspots observed in more than a decade has emerged from Earth near the Sun and began unleashing a series of solar storms that violently shook our star’s surface. The appearance of sunspots could make for an interesting few weeks for Earth; The world will soon find itself in the line of fire of these explosions. dark spots.
The first group of sunspots, called AR3490, returned to the Sun’s near side over the star’s northeastern shoulder on November 18. The dark spot was quickly followed by another group of sunspots, AR3491. informs spaceweather.com.
Scientists already knew sunspot groups were on their way because they were tracking “helioseismic tremors,” or ripples on the Sun’s surface in the region. The sunspot area is “so large that it affects the pulsation of the entire sun.”
According to the astronomy news site, the sunspot group has split since its emergence, producing new dark spots that form the “solar sunspot archipelago” including AR3492, AR3495, AR3496 and AR3497. EarthSky. In total, the vast collection of sunspots spans approximately 125,000 miles (200,000 kilometers), more than 15 times the size of Earth.
According to data SpaceWeatherLive.com Sunspots have caused at least 16 in the last 4 days sunlight class C and class 3M, which are the third and second most powerful flash classes, respectively. Experts warn that many similar outbreaks could occur in the next few weeks, potentially Class X flaresThe most powerful type of solar flare.
Oncoming flashes can also cause coronal mass breakthroughs (CMEs), or large clusters of charged solar particles that can hit Earth and trigger intense geomagnetic storms that can cause radio blackouts and bright auroras.
Astronomers also detected several large plasma loops, known as solar bulges, growing above some of the sunspots in the group. According to EarthSky, the largest loops rise more than 40,000 miles (64,000 km) above the surface and can break off and hurtle into space at any time, temporarily leaving behind huge “canyons of fire” on the sun’s surface.
Source: Port Altele
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