According to a report by Spaceweather.com, the first sunspot group, AR3490, appeared on the northeastern side of the Sun on November 18, signaling the start of the sunspot rise.
According to a NASA model cited by Newsweek, the Sun is undergoing a dramatic upsurge in activity that is resulting in a notable increase in the number of sunspots that are launching hot plasma plumes into space. Earth is predicted to be affected by these storms in the form of radio blackouts caused by geomagnetic storms.
What is the Sun’s current state?
Where there is a strong magnetic field, the surface of the Sun is covered in dark patches known as sunspots. Over the past week or two, the number of these black pockmarks has increased tenfold, and they are reportedly releasing multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) per day.
One of these CMEs, which are massive expulsions of plasma clouds from the Sun’s corona at high speeds, is predicted to strike our magnetic field and atmosphere late on November 25th, according to a Newsweek story quoting a NASA model. Additionally, solar flares—bright bursts of electromagnetic energy—can be released by the Sun.
Daniel Brown, an associate professor of astronomy and scientific communication at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek that “solar flares and CME are both caused by the sun through its magnetic field being twisted and stressed through motions in the sun.”
But a solar flare is an enormous outpouring of light caused by the sun’s magnetic fields breaking and rearranging, he continued. That usually goes hand in hand with a CME release. But while the light and radiation reach us in less than eight minutes, the particles will take a day or longer to arrive.
According to a report by Spaceweather.com, the first sunspot group, AR3490, appeared on the northeastern side of the Sun on November 18, signaling the start of the sunspot rise. Another sunspot group, AR3491, is reported to have developed a trail behind it once it emerged later.
What impact will this have on Earth?
When CME particles strike Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field, they set off a geomagnetic storm that may intensify and make auroras, which are created by solar wind-induced disruptions in the Earth’s magnetosphere, visible at lower altitudes.
According to Huw Morgan, head of the Solar Physics group at Aberystwyth University in the UK, “a geomagnetic storm occurs when the Earth’s magnetic field is seriously disrupted by eruptions from the sun” (Newsweek).
“We have a “perfect storm” and a larger geomagnetic storm when a massive plasma storm erupts from the sun and carries a magnetic field that is oriented in the opposite direction to Earth’s magnetic field.”
However, in addition to illuminating the sky with beautiful lights, geomagnetic storms can cause radio blackouts, power grid irregularities, and outages.