Just yesterday, it was reported that up to eight sunspots appeared on the Earth-facing solar disk (the side of the Sun that is visible from Earth). And today, NASA reported that one of the sunspots, the AR3038, has doubled in size in the last 24 hours, creating a state of concern for us. At its current magnitude, if it emits a solar flare on the surface of the Sun, strong radiation can cause an instantaneous radio blackout on Earth, interrupting various services. We witnessed something similar a few weeks ago, when a Category X solar flare cut off radio communications in parts of Russia and Japan. So, should we be worried? Continue reading. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has observed this sudden change in the sunspot. Spaceweather.com later reported the incident on its website. He said, “Yesterday, the AR3038 sunspot was large. Today, it is huge. “The fast-growing sunspot doubled in size in just 24 hours.” NASA defines sunspots as temporary dark areas on the surface of the Sun that have a reduced surface temperature caused by magnetic flux concentrations. These are very unstable areas prone to continuous burning. Read also: Are you looking for a smartphone? To check the Mobile Finder click here.
A sunspot threatens the Earth with a blackout that causes solar flares
This particular sunspot, AR3038 (where AR stands for Active Area) was part of eight other sunspots that appeared on the solar disk on June 18. Although it was not the most unstable, in the last 24 hours it has grown to a huge size. At its current magnitude, it is likely to be able to release a class X solar flare soon. For those who do not know, solar flares are divided into categories A, B, C, M and X where A contains the weakest solar radiation while X the highest amount of sunlight. According to NASA, a class X solar flare can not only release enough radiation to disrupt shortwave radio frequencies and radio used by various navigation systems, but it can also cause problems with GPS systems used specifically for airplanes and ships. While at this time, it is not certain whether a solar flare will definitely explode, with the instability of the sunspot, there is a chance that something like this will happen.
