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The Sun’s surface is currently on overdrive as the Earth enters a period of high cosmic activity, with a major new threat discovered in the form of an enormous sunspot visible from the surface of Mars. While sunspots are not usually a cause for concern, scientists warn that the gargantuan sunspot group AR3576, which measures over 124,274 miles, could trigger powerful solar flares and wreak havoc on the Earth. Sunspots, which appear as dark holes on the Sun’s surface, are known to be so disruptive they can trigger coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – large plasma and magnetic releases from the...

Huge 'sunspot archipelago' 15 times wider than Earth is spotted on the Sun - and scientists warn it could bombard our planet with solar flares capable of causing devastating blackouts Spots on sun described as 'archipelago' as they look like a collection of islands These planet-sized dark spots can release charged particles that hit the Earth By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 07:46 EST, 22 November 2023 | UPDATED: 07:46 EST, 22 November 2023 e-mail 34 shares 22 View comments They look like small dots of pepper on a tasty egg yolk, or an 'archipelago' – a big group of...

Experts have warned that the dark region, which is cooler than the surrounding area, could release energetic explosions capable of knocking out our planet's power grids. The exact measurements of the sunspot are unknown, but NASA's Perseverance rover snapped images of the spot as it sits more than 152 million miles from the sun. The rover observed the sunspot on August 17 through August 20 while exploring the Jezero Crater on the Red Planet.

The spot is so big it's changing the way the sun vibrates, according to spaceweather.com. If the dark spot hurls a blob of plasma at Earth, it could disrupt our magnetic field, affecting GPS and communication satellites orbiting close to Earth as well as airplane navigation systems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center issued a forecast for an unsettled geomagnetic field around Earth on Aug. 6 and 7, which could means auroras, though whether it becomes a full-blown solar storm is not yet clear. The telltale vibrational changes showed up in a helioseismic map near...

A massive sunspot has been spotted on our sun that looks directly at Earth The sunspot doubled in size over just a 24-hour period Experts say it could possibly send out medium-class flares in the near future. A dark sunspot that is facing directly toward Earth doubled in size in just a 24-hour period and could possibly send out medium-class flares in the near future. Tony Phillips, the author of SpaceWeather.com, wrote on Wednesday: ‘Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big. Today, it's enormous.’ And it is now said to measure three times the size of Earth.

A HUGE sunspot which doubled in size over a 24-hour period is now directly facing Earth, meaning a large solar flare could strike the planet. The sunspot, known as AR3038, doubled in size between Sunday and Monday night. Now, it has turned to face the Earth, sparking concerns that rapid solar winds could pelt towards the Blue Planet. And stunning footage from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Sunday shows how the huge sunspot has been evolving. Experts at Spaceweather.com explained: "Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big. "Today, it's enormous. The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours. "AR3038...

The sunspot that has been growing in size recently is known as AR3038. Footage from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Sunday shows how the sunspot has evolved over the past day or so, twisting and contorting. "Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big. Today, it's enormous," reads the SpaceWeather.com website. "The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours." The magnetic field associated with the sunspot means it could potentially send an M-class solar flare at Earth—the second-strongest type. However, it is not known whether this will be the case. As of Monday morning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's...

A powerful solar storm is set to hit Earth on Thursday (March 31) with spectacular aurora displays accompanying it after the sun fired nearly 20 flares from a single sunspot in just two days. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), spat out from the overactive sunspot AR2975, on Monday (March 28), are heading toward our planet and might trigger a geomagnetic storm rated as G3 on NOAA's five-point scale.

Just days after the Sun blasted Earth with an M-Class solar flare which created an unexpected G1-Class Geomagnetic Storm, the sun erupted another M-class solar flare towards the Earth earlier today. Today’s flare blasted the Earth with X-rays and UV radiation, triggering a shortwave radio black out over portions of the globe. On Saturday, NOAA forecasters said there was a risk of additional solar flares through today and as predicted, it occured. While Saturday’s solar flare erupted from sunspot Active Region-2911; today’s flare came from Active Regions 2908. In a statement released by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center today, they...

NASA satellites have observed a large sunspot forming on the surface of the Sun. The sunspot is twice as wide as Earth and it is facing away from us, for now. However, as Earth moves around the host star, the sunspot could fire a solar flare right at us. Astronomy site Space Weather said: “A new sunspot is emerging over the sun’s northeastern limb, and it’s a big one. “The sunspot’s primary core is twice as wide as Earth, and it is accompanied by two Moon-sized companion spots – dimensions which make it an easy target for amateur solar telescopes....

Yet another series of solar flares(opens in new tab) series shimmied out from the sun on Friday (Aug. 26) after a dazzling show of green-hued auroras(opens in new tab) crashed through the atmosphere just days ago. "Sunspot AR3089 is crackling with a series of intensifying M-class [moderate] solar flares," SpaceWeather.com(opens in new tab) said in a Friday update. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an especially powerful flare at 7:16 a.m. EDT (1116 GMT) as populations in Europe and Africa experienced a brief radio blackout. A huge ejection of charged particles from the sun(opens in new tab), known as a coronal...

The sunspot, known as AR3085, has also been shooting off several minor solar flares, though nothing strong enough to be disruptive on Earth. The sunspot, known as AR3085, has also been shooting off several minor solar flares, though nothing strong enough to be disruptive on Earth. Sunspots are regions on the sun where magnetic fields are so intense that some heat is prevented from reaching the sun's surface. As such, sunspots may appear as dark patches. Due to the intense magnetic fields, sunspots are known sources of solar activity. When these magnetic field lines suddenly shift, a vast amount of...

Sun AR3038 Composite image of the Sun’s surface on 6/21/22. AR3038 can be seen in the upper right. Credit: NOAA’s Space Weather Forecast Office Sunspots are usually not a cause for concern, even if they double in size overnight and grow to be twice the size of the Earth itself. That’s exactly what happened with Active Region 3038 (AR3038), a sunspot that happens to be facing Earth and could emit some minor solar flares. While there’s no reason to worry, it does mean a potentially exciting event could happen – spectacular auroras. Although astrophysicists consistently point out that sunspots like...

The explosion comes courtesy of a dead sunspot called AR2987.... The sunspot explosion released loads of energy in the form of radiation, which also led to a coronal mass ejection (CME) — explosive balls of solar material — both of which could spur more intense northern lights in Earth's upper atmosphere. The material in that CME is likely to impact Earth on April 14... The idea of a "dead" sunspot is more poetic than scientific, said Philip Judge, a solar physicist at the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), but the convection of the sun...

Explanation: Why are the regions above sunspots so hot? Sunspots themselves are a bit cooler than the surrounding solar surface because the magnetic fields that create them reduce convective heating. It is therefore unusual that regions overhead -- even much higher up in the Sun's corona -- can be hundreds of times hotter. To help find the cause, NASA directed the Earth-orbiting Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) satellite to point its very sensitive X-ray telescope at the Sun. Featured here is the Sun in ultraviolet light, shown in a red hue as taken by the orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)....

The Sun has fired several rounds of solar flares since last week, all of which have the potential to cause power grid fluctuations and irregularities in satellite orientation on Earth, according to media reports. Since November 1, the Sun has produced three of the outbursts known to scientists as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), according to Space.com. A CME is a massive eruption of solar particles caused by intense flares from the Sun aimed directly at Earth. CMEs are globs of gas and magnetic fields that are ejected into space by sunspots, which are knots in the Sun’s magnetic field. Two...

Solar Cycle 25 is heating up faster than expected. The latest sign may be found in sunspot counts from July 2021. Continuing a trend that started last year, they overperform the official forecast. Issued by the NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel in 2019, the official forecast calls for Solar Cycle 25 to peak in July 2025. However, a better fit to current data shows Solar Cycle 25 peaking in October 2024. This is just outside the 8-month error bars of the Panel's forecast. July 2021 was a remarkable month. Solar Cycle 25 crossed multiple thresholds, including its first X-flare...

The key to this proposed solar-weather connection lies in “terminator” events, which spell the end of a solar cycle. Over the course of 22 years, bands of magnetism wrapping around the sun slowly migrate toward the equator, interacting with one another to produce sunspots. Those sunspots, or cool, dark discolorations on the sun’s surface, pulsate with magnetic energy, occasionally hurling it into space in solar storms that can spark displays of the northern lights. There are two bands of magnetism per hemisphere on the sun. At solar minimum, both sets of bands are of equal and opposite strength, so the...

The surface of the Sun is a turbulent dance of gravity, plasma, and magnetic fields. Much like the weather on Earth, its behavior can seem unpredictable, but there are patterns to be found when you look closely. The first pattern to be observed on the solar surface was that of sunspots. Sunspots were noticed by a few ancient astronomers, but they have been regularly studied since the 1600s. As astronomers counted the number of spots seen each year, they found the Sun goes through active years and quiet years. There is an 11-year cycle of high and low sunspot counts....

A massive sunspot on the Sun is turning towards our planet and this could result in strong solar flares. The sunspot AR2770 was detected earlier this week and is expected to grow in size in the upcoming days. A report by SpaceWeather.com - a space weather forecasting website - said that multiple minor flares have been emitted by the sunspot already as it faced towards the earth. These flares have caused "minor waves of ionization to ripple through Earth's upper atmosphere" but nothing major yet. A clear picture of the AR2770 has also surfaced that gives a better idea into...