The large sunspot on the surface of the Sun had become increasingly active in the past few days before it erupted a powerful solar flare towards Earth. The sunspot is known as AR3098 and is as big as Earth. Spaceweather.com reported that there could be a possible solar flare building inside the sunspot, given its size and recent activities.
The sunspot is facing the planet. The footage from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows that it has been growing rapidly and has developed into a cluster of large dark spots on the Sun's surface.
How Solar Flares Form
According to Newsweek, sunspots are regions of the Sun where intense magnetic fields are present. They are so intense that they prevent the heat from the Sun's interior from reaching the surface, which gives it a darker appearance and cooler temperatures than its surrounding regions.
The magnetic field is associated with sunspots, and a sudden shift or realignment of energy could cause explosions in the form of radiation known as a solar flare or the cloud of plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
This powerful energy from the Sun could affect Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, hence the beautiful aurora lights and its disruptive effects on satellites, spacecraft, radio communications, navigation systems, and even power grids if they are too intense.
But not all solar flares are equally made. They are categorized based on strength, such as A, B, C, M, and X classes. The A-class solar flares are considered the weakest, while X-class solar flares are the strongest. Generally, both M- and X-class solar flares are strong enough for scientists to issue a space weather alert.
Sunspot AR3098 Released M-Class Solar Flare
The sunspot AR3098 has been making headlines in the past week because of its Earth-like size and increasing activities. Spaceweather.com previously reported that a possible M- or X-class could be building inside this large sunspot that could pose a significant threat to Earth.
It simmered on the surface of the Sun for about five days until it shot a ten million-degree Celsius (18 million-degree Fahrenheit) solar flare towards the planet in the late hours of September 12, Newsweek reported.
Earlier that day, scientists predicted a C-class solar flare with a 20% chance of becoming an M-class and a 5% chance of releasing an X-class. But an impressive M-class solar flare was seen in the SDO 131, which shows plasma over 10 million Kelvin.
Dr. C. Alex Young posted an update on Twitter and said that the temporary disruptive effects from the solar flare were experienced over the Pacific Ocean. She also wrote in her caption that it was an M1.7 solar flare, which describes its intensity within the M classification, in which one (1) is the lowest and nine (9) is the highest.
FINALLY! AR3098 just released an M1.7 flare at the end of the day on Sept. 12 UTC. An nice impulsive event seen in SDO 131 showing plasma greater than 10 million Kelvin. Hot hot! ☀️🥵🔥🤩 The radio blackout is over the Pacific. pic.twitter.com/FCT34Rx1qM
— Dr. C. Alex Young (@TheSunToday) September 13, 2022
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) also detected the flare at the same time at 11:43 p.m. UTC (7:43 p.m. ET).
A weak M-class solar flare would only have minor effects on Earth, while a strong M-class could cause moderate effects that lead to a radio blackout for ten minutes. Experts said that it is unlikely that such an effect is noticeable and that it would take an X-class solar flare to cause significant disruption.
RELATED ARTICLE: Big X-Class Solar Flare May Be Building in the Dangerous Sunspot Pointing to Earth
Check out more news and information on Solar Flare in Science Times.
