Growing Sunspot Faces Earth, Second-Strongest Solar Flare Possible

A massive sunspot that has grown twice its size in just 24 hours is now facing Earth and may produce a solar flare.

Sunspots are dark spots on the surface of the sun that are linked to powerful radiation bursts. Because they are cooler than other areas of the sun's surface, they appear dark.

Because they develop over regions with particularly potent magnetic fields, sunspots are relatively cool. Sunspots develop when some of the sun's internal heat is prevented from reaching the surface due to the strength of the magnetic fields.

These tangled magnetic fields occasionally spontaneously reorganize. When that occurs, a solar flare, a sudden explosion of light and radiation, is ejected from the sun.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory demonstrates the sunspot's twisting and contorting evolution over the previous day or so.

Sunspot AR3038, which was large on Tuesday, is now referred to as "enormous," with SpaceWeather adding that it has grown by a factor of two in just one day.

Sunspot to Solar Flare

The sunspot's magnetic field makes it possible for it to produce an M-class solar flare, the second-strongest kind, and send it toward Earth. Whether this will be the case, however, is unknown.

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has not issued any solar flare warnings as of Monday morning.

Solar flares are powerful enough to disrupt radio communication networks and navigational systems on Earth. People who work in the maritime or aviation industries, among others, may experience issues as a result.

M-Class vs. X-Class

But it's important to remember that an M-class flare wouldn't likely be all that disruptive. Despite being the second-strongest type of solar flare, M-class flares typically only result in mild radio blackouts. The M9 flare, the strongest in the M-class, has the potential to disrupt low-frequency navigation signals and cut off radio communication for tens of minutes in affected areas of Earth. There are also lots of M-class flares.

The less frequent X-class flares are the ones that can get into more serious trouble because it is the strongest type of flare. Boats and airplanes would not be able to use navigation signals during an X20 flare, for example, which would result in a complete high-frequency radio blackout on the dayside of Earth for several hours.

Fortunately, these flares are extremely rare, occurring less frequently than once every 11 years, which is the average length of a solar cycle, Newsweek reports.

1989 Coronal Mass Ejection

Coronal mass ejections, a significant release of plasma and magnetic field from the sun, can be caused by powerful M-class and X-class flares. Geomagnetic storms may result from this behavior, which can disturb the magnetosphere of the Earth. Such geomagnetic storms may cause auroras to appear closer to the equator than is normally possible.

A powerful solar flare that was part of a coronal mass ejection that struck Earth in 1989 knocked out electricity for 12 hours across the entire Canadian province of Quebec. The solar eruption also caused a geomagnetic storm that caused aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, to be visible as far south as Florida and Cuba.