Tony Phillips, author of SpaceWeather.com, wrote on Wednesday: “Yesterday, the AR3038 sunspot was large. Today, it is huge. “ And now it is said to be three times the size of the Earth. Not only does the AR30398 sunspot look directly at our planet, but it also has an unstable beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors enough energy to cause short radio interruptions. A dark sunspot pointing directly at the Earth has doubled in size in just 24 hours and could possibly emit mid-range flares in the near future. Tony Phillips, author of SpaceWeather.com, wrote on Wednesday: “Yesterday, the AR3038 sunspot was large. Today it is huge “ Sunspots are dark areas of the Sun where it is cooler than other parts of the surface. Solar flares begin near these dark areas of the star. Solar flares and corona mass eruptions come from these areas and when they explode in the direction of the Earth, they can lead to geomagnetic storms that produce beautiful saddles, as well as endangering power grids and satellites. The AR3038 is undoubtedly a large sunspot – a New Jersey seaside spotted it in the sun as it rose over the Atlantic Ocean. A pair of huge swarms of sunspots, some large enough to devour the entire Earth, appeared on the surface of the sun in April. Not only does the AR30398 sunspot look directly at our planet, but it also has an unstable beta-gamma magnetic field that harbors enough energy to cause short radio interruptions. Named AR2993 and AR2994, the two active regions sent scientists into a surge to find out if the Earth should be prepared for strong solar flares – but fortunately neither were sent our way. However, in early April, Earth barely lost a plasma eruption, linked to a group of sunspots that had previously appeared on the star. The recent increase in activity from the Sun is the result of it coming to the most active phase in its 11-year solar cycle – reaching its maximum activity in 2024. Studies have shown that the level of solar activity currently occurring is about the same as 11 years ago, at the same point in the last cycle. “I’m sure we will see more active areas in the coming years,” NASA solar physicist Dean Pesnell told Live Science. “Active areas 2993 and 2994 are of medium size and do not represent the best that Solar Cycle 25 can produce.” Jan Janssens of the Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence in Brussels told Live Science that multiple solar flares and corona mass eruptions are “typical at this stage of the solar cycle”, with some heading towards Earth but is missing. A pair of huge clusters of sunspots, some large enough to devour the entire Earth, appeared on the surface of the sun in April As the solar cycle goes to its maximum, more and more complex areas of sunspots become visible, which can then produce solar flares. Solar flares have letter categories, with category A the weakest, after category B, C and M, with category X the strongest of the categories. They are then given a size – the small numbers represent smaller flares within the classroom. An X1 flash is ten times less powerful than the strongest solar flare, and the strongest recorded since 2003 is flooding the sensors as X28. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Forecast Center found that Sunday’s thunderstorm caused blackouts in some radio frequencies below 30 MHz in Southeast Asia and Australia. Although the flash causes the radio to darken, the flare-up creature will not hit Earth. “Crown eruptions and eruptions will become more common in the coming years, increasing the level of risk of solar activity,” Pesnell told Live Science. There has been no extreme CME or solar flare in the modern world – the last being the Carrington event in 1859 – creating a geomagnetic storm with a globe appearing worldwide, as well as telegraph fires.
