Scientists from the POT have detected a rapidly growing sunspotcall AR3085, that points directly at Earth and could launch a solar energy assault towards the planet in the coming days.
The report suggests that a few days ago the spot was small, but that in the last 48 hours its size multiplied 10 times, transforming into two sunspots, each one almost the diameter of the Earth.
SpaceWeather.com shared a GIF showing the evolution of the spot during the last two days.
Sunspots are large, dark regions of strong magnetic fields that form on the Sun’s surface. Typically the width of the planets, these regions appear darker because they are cooler than their surroundings.
These spots form where bands of the Sun’s magnetic field become tangled and strained, inhibiting the flow of hot gas from the Sun’s interior and forming cooler, darker regions on the star’s surface.
The accumulations of magnetic energy often lead to solar flares. The more sunspots that appear on the Sun at any given time, the more likely it is that flares will break out.
We are in danger?
livescience adds in his report that if the spots continue to grow in the coming days, could produce stronger flashes that could hurtle toward Earth, endangering satellites and communication systems. For now, however, there is no imminent danger.
Solar activity has increased in recent years, with numerous X-class flares bearing down on our planet since the spring of 2022, sometimes days apart. The number of sunspots and solar flares is likely to increase as time progresses towards the next solar maximum.