Astronomers recently detected a massive explosion on the far side of the sun, which likely released one of the most powerful flares the sun can produce.
A massive explosion on the far side of the sun recently produced an X-class flare, one of the most powerful solar flares the sun can produce.
The resulting solar storm will narrowly miss Earth, but the sunspot responsible for its burping could soon head straight for our planet.
The epic eruption was discovered on January 3 by the Sun and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), an Earth-orbiting spacecraft in collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency.
SOHO detected a bright stream of plasma, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), emerging from the sun’s southeastern edge, according to Spaceweather.
The coronal mass ejection was likely triggered by a hidden far-side flare and was recorded as a Class C event, the third-highest class of solar flares.
The solar flare categories include A, B, C, M, and X, with each category being at least 10 times more powerful than the previous category, but based on the size and strength of the visible coronal mass ejection, experts believe that the hidden explosion that was born may have been large enough. To be classified as a Class X flare.
The most powerful X-class flares can be emitted from the sun with the equivalent force of about a billion hydrogen bombs, according to NASA.
If one of these flares were to hit the Earth upside down, it could cause widespread power and radio outages on the side of the planet facing the sun and cause damage to satellites in Earth orbit.
The resulting afterglow will be so strong that it could even give nearby plane passengers small doses of radiation, according to NASA.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) modeled the solar storm from the latest X-class flare, and found that it will narrowly outpace Earth over the next few days, according to Spaceweather.com. However, that does not mean that we are going to stay in the clear for long.
Astronomers believe the massive flare was emitted by a sunspot – planet-sized dark regions that form in the sun’s lower atmosphere as a result of magnetic disturbances – known as AR3163, which has been orbiting on the far side of the sun about two weeks ago after a light-to-moderate coronal mass ejection was released on the near side. to the sun.
Based on the potential strength of the hidden glow, experts believe the sunspot has grown exponentially in size since it disappeared from view.
When the last flare erupted, AR3163 was expected to reappear on the near side of the sun in two days based on acoustic images, known as solar seismic echoes, which can detect distortions on the sun’s hidden surface.
On January 5, the closest edge of AR3163 began to appear on the solar horizon, as expected.
It will soon be pointed directly at Earth, and has the potential to emit more X-class flares, but the chances of a direct collision are relatively low.
The earth is currently at perihelion, which means that our planet is at its closest point to the sun.
On January 4, another coronal mass ejection from an M-class flare, which was able to cause a slight radio interruption, hit Earth just as the planet moved as close to the Sun as possible.
Solar activity will continue to increase as we approach the peak of the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle, which will occur in 2025.
During the month of December 2022, there were 24 active sunspots on the sun, which is the highest number in more than seven years.