Robi Maddison Science 07.13.2022 01:Jul AM EDT

Sunspot AR3055 May Cause Earth-Directed Solar Flares That Can Lead to Blackouts, Scientists Worry

A huge sunspot's potential impact is a source of concern for astronomers.

Sunspot AR3055

According to a report by the New York Post, a large sunspot known as AR3055, that is more than 6,100 miles wide, has caught solar researchers' attention. Our way of life is at risk because it is nearly directly facing the Earth.

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These areas are concentrations of relatively colder temperatures brought on by a magnetic flux, and they appear as black moles on the surface of the Sun.

A sunspot like AR3055 may produce "M-class" solar flares, or bursts of extremely energetic radiation that might continue for hours. Despite being of a medium size, M-class flares have the ability to cause radio blackouts on Earth and in space.

How Can AR3055 Affect Earth

The strength of flares is categorized, with type X being the strongest of all and types C and B falling below M. These flares have the potential to cause widespread outages and radiation storms.

But what are sun flares exactly, and how may they impact the planet?

Plasma is released by flares from the corona, the Sun's outermost layer. When the shockwave, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), eventually reaches our atmosphere, it causes geomagnetic storms that have different effects on satellites, GPS, local power systems, and other natural processes, as per New York Post.

Citing the most recent data on SpaceWeather.com, Interesting Engineering reported that the solar surface is now exhibiting substantial magnetism filaments. These solar filaments are known to be quite unstable, but in this particular instance, they appear to have been keeping it together for days. They are anticipated to erupt at some point and send some solar debris hurtling toward Earth.

Interesting Engineering (via SpaceWeather.com) mentioned that on the morning of July 13, a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is expected will approach Earth. But rather than the filaments, this storm is most likely the product of two smaller sunspots. A relatively strong M-class flare from AR3055 is predicted to cause radio outages for a few minutes. What the filaments are capable of is still unknown.

Astronomers Know Little About This Sunspot

The New York Post said that scientists are uncertain if AR3055 suddenly grew on its own over the weekend or grew to its present size from a smaller location that already existed.

However, Interesting Engineering pointed out that it is not surprising that astronomers know so little. A geomagnetic storm still strikes the Earth at a million miles per hour without being detected, despite the fact that so many Earth-based observatories have been studying the Sun. The reason for this was that the storm wasn't brought on by a sunspot eruption, but rather by a buildup of plasma in the space between the fast and slow moving streams of solar winds.

Scientists Are Also Monitoring Another Sunspot

Astronomers were monitoring sunspot AR3038 last month with great interest as it quickly went from "big to enormous" and expanded to be three times the size of the Earth. Astronomers are fixated on the skies because the Sun is currently in an active period of its 11-year cycle, which is marked by intense activity on its surface, as per Interesting Engineering.