SPACE WEATHER
Sunspot numbers hit 20-year high, indicating the sun is fast approaching its explosive peakHarry Baker
LIVE SCIENCE
Wed, July 5, 2023
The sun covered in hundreds of sunspots in a time-lapse image of June
The sun is partying like it's 2002. The number of observed sunspots on our home star last month was the highest for almost 21 years. It's one of the clearest signs yet we are fast approaching the sun's chaotic peak, known as solar maximum — and that it will be far more extreme than initially predicted.
In June, 163 sunspots appeared on the solar surface, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. The last time this many dark patches littered the sun was in September 2002, when 187 sunspots were observed.
Scientists pay particularly close attention to the number of sunspots because it is the easiest way to track changes in solar activity during the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycle. The dark patches are caused by the sun's magnetic field poking through the solar surface, which only happens as the field becomes increasingly tangled up with itself as the solar cycle progresses, before eventually flipping completely to kickstart the next cycle.
At the start of each solar cycle when the sun is at its calmest, known as solar minimum, there are almost no sunspots at all. But as the sun approaches solar maximum the number of dark spots sharply rises until the star is covered with them and they begin to spit out increasingly frequent and powerful solar flares.
Related: 10 signs the sun is gearing up for its explosive peak — the solar maximum
The current solar cycle — the 25th scientists have recorded — officially began in December 2019. At the time, scientists predicted the cycle would peak in 2025 and be similar in intensity to the previous cycle, which was meager compared with other cycles on record. However, as Solar Cycle 25 has progressed it has shown signs that it's far more active than those initial predictions suggested, and experts now believe the upcoming maximum could arrive early and be much more powerful than the last one.
Solar cycle progression
For the last 28 months in a row, the number of observed sunspots has been higher than the predicted values from the initial solar cycle forecasts. For example, the predicted number for June was only 77, which is less than half the actual number of sunspots. And in December 2022, sunspot numbers hit an eight-year high.
Thousands of sunspots cover the sun in a time-lapse image for the first six months of 2023
June's sunspot count was greater than any month during the last solar maximum, which suggests the upcoming peak will be much more active. The current trend is more in line with Solar Cycle 23, which peaked between 2000 and 2001. During that solar maximum, the highest sunspot count was 244, recorded in July 2000.
related stories
—Rare streaks of light above US are a sign that solar maximum is fast approaching
—10 solar storms that blew us away in 2022
—See the 'monster' sunspot that launched the Carrington Event, the most devastating solar storm in recorded history
On June 29 this year, a sunspot that had only appeared 48 hours earlier rapidly swelled into a behemoth that was around 10 times wider than Earth, making it one of the largest sunspots of Solar Cycle 25. On July 2, this gigantic dark patch spat out an X-class solar flare (the strongest type the sun can produce), which slammed directly into Earth and caused radio blackouts in the western U.S. and eastern Pacific Ocean. This is another telltale sign that solar maximum is fast approaching and will be more extreme than expected.
But sunspots aren't the only indicator the upcoming maximum will be stronger than the last. In March, the thermosphere — the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere — reached its highest temperature for almost 20 years after soaking up excess energy from solar storms that hit our planet in early 2023.
Wed, July 5, 2023
The sun covered in hundreds of sunspots in a time-lapse image of June
The sun is partying like it's 2002. The number of observed sunspots on our home star last month was the highest for almost 21 years. It's one of the clearest signs yet we are fast approaching the sun's chaotic peak, known as solar maximum — and that it will be far more extreme than initially predicted.
In June, 163 sunspots appeared on the solar surface, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. The last time this many dark patches littered the sun was in September 2002, when 187 sunspots were observed.
Scientists pay particularly close attention to the number of sunspots because it is the easiest way to track changes in solar activity during the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycle. The dark patches are caused by the sun's magnetic field poking through the solar surface, which only happens as the field becomes increasingly tangled up with itself as the solar cycle progresses, before eventually flipping completely to kickstart the next cycle.
At the start of each solar cycle when the sun is at its calmest, known as solar minimum, there are almost no sunspots at all. But as the sun approaches solar maximum the number of dark spots sharply rises until the star is covered with them and they begin to spit out increasingly frequent and powerful solar flares.
Related: 10 signs the sun is gearing up for its explosive peak — the solar maximum
The current solar cycle — the 25th scientists have recorded — officially began in December 2019. At the time, scientists predicted the cycle would peak in 2025 and be similar in intensity to the previous cycle, which was meager compared with other cycles on record. However, as Solar Cycle 25 has progressed it has shown signs that it's far more active than those initial predictions suggested, and experts now believe the upcoming maximum could arrive early and be much more powerful than the last one.
Solar cycle progression
For the last 28 months in a row, the number of observed sunspots has been higher than the predicted values from the initial solar cycle forecasts. For example, the predicted number for June was only 77, which is less than half the actual number of sunspots. And in December 2022, sunspot numbers hit an eight-year high.
Thousands of sunspots cover the sun in a time-lapse image for the first six months of 2023
June's sunspot count was greater than any month during the last solar maximum, which suggests the upcoming peak will be much more active. The current trend is more in line with Solar Cycle 23, which peaked between 2000 and 2001. During that solar maximum, the highest sunspot count was 244, recorded in July 2000.
related stories
—Rare streaks of light above US are a sign that solar maximum is fast approaching
—10 solar storms that blew us away in 2022
—See the 'monster' sunspot that launched the Carrington Event, the most devastating solar storm in recorded history
On June 29 this year, a sunspot that had only appeared 48 hours earlier rapidly swelled into a behemoth that was around 10 times wider than Earth, making it one of the largest sunspots of Solar Cycle 25. On July 2, this gigantic dark patch spat out an X-class solar flare (the strongest type the sun can produce), which slammed directly into Earth and caused radio blackouts in the western U.S. and eastern Pacific Ocean. This is another telltale sign that solar maximum is fast approaching and will be more extreme than expected.
But sunspots aren't the only indicator the upcoming maximum will be stronger than the last. In March, the thermosphere — the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere — reached its highest temperature for almost 20 years after soaking up excess energy from solar storms that hit our planet in early 2023.
Powerful ‘X-class’ solar flare from rapidly growing sunspot triggers radio blackout in US
Vishwam Sankaran
Tue, July 4, 2023
A powerful solar flare from a fast-growing sunspot on the Sun’s surface triggered radio blackouts in some parts of the US.
The giant sunspot, named AR3354, was first spotted on the Sun on June 27 and grew rapidly within a span of two days to a size about 10 times larger than Earth, raising concerns among space weather scientists.
This sunspot first produced a minor M-class flare on 29 June and, after a brief period of calm, unleashed an X-class flare – the most powerful category of solar flare the Sun can belch out – aimed directly at Earth.
Solar flares are giant explosions on the Sun’s surface that send out charged particles and energy into space at high speeds. They are categorised as either A, B, C, M or X, with each successive letter representing a 10-fold increase in energy output.
“When this week began, sunspot AR3354 didn’t exist. Now it is 10 times wider than Earth and still growing. The sunspot burst into view on June 27th, breaching the surface of the sun, then blossoming into a giant over the next 48 hours,” noted Spaceweather.com.
The sunspot is so big that amateur astronomers are able to observe it and see details that are normally found by the world’s greatest telescopes.
The US federal body National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center reported a “strong radio blackout” in parts of the US on Sunday.
“The flare came from a large and complex region denoted as sunspot group 3354,” NOAA said, adding that it led to a “temporary degradation or complete loss of High Frequency (HF) radio signals” on some of the sunlit sides of Earth.
Some of the biggest X-class solar flares to hit Earth have led to long-lasting radiation storms, which can potentially harm satellites, communications systems and even power grids.
The solar storm on Sunday led to brief radio blackouts lasting for about 30 minutes in the western US and parts of the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA.
The flare peaked in intensity at 7.14pm ET on 2 July, Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory said in a statement.
However, experts said if the flare had launched along with it fast-moving charged particles, in what’s called a coronal mass ejection (CME), it might have led to an even larger radio blackout.
The sunspot AR3354 has not yet shrunk in size and may still belch out more solar flares in the coming days.
Flares and CMEs are produced by the snapping and reconnection of the Sun’s magnetic field lines, often at sunspots.
The appearance of more frequent sunspots as well as larger ones is a sign of the Sun nearing Solar Maximum – the most active time of the Sun’s 11-year cycle – experts said.
Vishwam Sankaran
Tue, July 4, 2023
A powerful solar flare from a fast-growing sunspot on the Sun’s surface triggered radio blackouts in some parts of the US.
The giant sunspot, named AR3354, was first spotted on the Sun on June 27 and grew rapidly within a span of two days to a size about 10 times larger than Earth, raising concerns among space weather scientists.
This sunspot first produced a minor M-class flare on 29 June and, after a brief period of calm, unleashed an X-class flare – the most powerful category of solar flare the Sun can belch out – aimed directly at Earth.
Solar flares are giant explosions on the Sun’s surface that send out charged particles and energy into space at high speeds. They are categorised as either A, B, C, M or X, with each successive letter representing a 10-fold increase in energy output.
“When this week began, sunspot AR3354 didn’t exist. Now it is 10 times wider than Earth and still growing. The sunspot burst into view on June 27th, breaching the surface of the sun, then blossoming into a giant over the next 48 hours,” noted Spaceweather.com.
The sunspot is so big that amateur astronomers are able to observe it and see details that are normally found by the world’s greatest telescopes.
The US federal body National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center reported a “strong radio blackout” in parts of the US on Sunday.
“The flare came from a large and complex region denoted as sunspot group 3354,” NOAA said, adding that it led to a “temporary degradation or complete loss of High Frequency (HF) radio signals” on some of the sunlit sides of Earth.
Some of the biggest X-class solar flares to hit Earth have led to long-lasting radiation storms, which can potentially harm satellites, communications systems and even power grids.
The solar storm on Sunday led to brief radio blackouts lasting for about 30 minutes in the western US and parts of the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA.
The flare peaked in intensity at 7.14pm ET on 2 July, Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory said in a statement.
However, experts said if the flare had launched along with it fast-moving charged particles, in what’s called a coronal mass ejection (CME), it might have led to an even larger radio blackout.
The sunspot AR3354 has not yet shrunk in size and may still belch out more solar flares in the coming days.
Flares and CMEs are produced by the snapping and reconnection of the Sun’s magnetic field lines, often at sunspots.
The appearance of more frequent sunspots as well as larger ones is a sign of the Sun nearing Solar Maximum – the most active time of the Sun’s 11-year cycle – experts said.
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