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Monday, December 9, 2024

A Major Solar Flare Potential Sunspot Is Facing Towards Earth

Although the AR3089 sunspot has been quiet, that doesn't mean it's going away

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Russell Chattaraj
Russell Chattaraj
Mechanical engineering graduate, writes about science, technology and sports, teaching physics and mathematics, also played cricket professionally and passionate about bodybuilding.

UNITED STATES: The giant sunspot on the surface of the sun has been unnervingly quiet this week, which has some astronomers worried that a powerful solar outburst may be forming.

Dr Tony Phillips, a retired astronomer with NASA, asks on SpaceWeather.com, “Could it be the quiet before the storm?”

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“Although the AR3089 sunspot has been quiet, that doesn’t mean it’s going away. It has instead “built a delta-class magnetic field that stores energy for X-class solar flares,” Phillips added.

Video Credit: YouTube

The X-class is the strongest type of flare, but even within that category, there is a lot of diversity. At its most powerful, the X-class can produce as much energy as a trillion hydrogen bombs.

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Fortunately, the Earth’s magnetosphere’s powerful output spares us from any biological damage.

However, X Flares and the coronal mass ejections that are frequently linked with them can produce radiation storms that can harm satellites, interfere with Earth’s communications infrastructure, and even bring down the power grid.

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The strongest flare ever observed is believed to have occurred in 2003 and was roughly X40, though sensors measuring it stopped off at X16.

The likelihood of an X flare over the next three days is under 5%, according to the most recent projection from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. However, a strong flare and CME would be visible to us because the dangerous sunspot was pointed squarely at Earth.

Sunspot AR3089, which is facing towards the Earth, has now developed a delta-class magnetic field. Photo Credit: Twitter

Even if the eruption is delayed, it won’t be long before we are again in danger.

Since the sun is approaching the apex of its 11-year sunspot activity cycle, we may anticipate that our star will continue to be active for the foreseeable future.

Also Read: An Enormous New Sunspot Triples Its Size within 24 Hours

Author

  • Russell Chattaraj

    Mechanical engineering graduate, writes about science, technology and sports, teaching physics and mathematics, also played cricket professionally and passionate about bodybuilding.

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