Solar flare danger! Growing sunspot could spark a solar storm today, reveals NASA

Solar storm today: Solar activity has been on a dangerous rise in the last few months, and we’ve already seen various solar phenomena impact Earth. In the last month, there were two instances of terrifying X-class solar flares hitting the planet, one of which caused a radio blackout in the polar regions for almost 3 days. The Sun has been showing all its might for the past couple of months and as we approach the solar maximum that will likely occur in 2024-25, its wrath is only expected to increase. NASA has now revealed a growing sunspot that could hurl out a solar flare and spark a solar storm. Check details.

Solar storm today

According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as many as 11 sunspots have been spotted on the surface of the Sun. All of these sunspots are crackling with minor C-class solar flares. However, sunspot AR3546 has been discovered as the most unstable, and it poses the greatest threat of a most significant solar flare.

The SpaceWeather report states, “There are 11 sunspot groups on the solar disk, and almost all of them are crackling with minor C-class solar flares. Fast-growing sunspot AR3546 appears to be the least stable, and thus the greatest threat for a more significant flare.”

The solar flare was discovered using NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. If it impacts, a solar storm could be on the cards soon.

About the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory

The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) uses three very crucial instruments to collect data from various solar activities. They include the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) which takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible solar disk, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) which measures the Sun's extreme ultraviolet irradiance, and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) which provides continuous full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.

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