A huge sunspot was so massive that it was visible on Mars. NASA's Perseverance rover saw it, and it could reportedly release powerful solar storms that would surely affect the power grids on Earth.
Sunspot Visible on Mars
A massive sunspot that NASA has discovered on the Sun is expected to keep expanding and moving over its surface until it comes into view for Earth next week.
The black area, which is cooler than the surroundings, may emit energetic bursts that have the potential to disrupt the power infrastructures of our planet, according to experts. The sunspot's exact dimensions are unclear, but NASA's Perseverance rover captured photographs while it was more than 152 million miles from the Sun.
From Aug. 17 to Aug. 20, the rover investigating the Jezero Crater on Mars saw the sunspot. Spaceweather said Perseverance may see incoming sunspots more than a week before we can since Mars is orbiting over the distant side of the Sun. Thus, we can take this as a one-week warning that a large sunspot is approaching/
The animation of the photographs depicts a dim sun hanging in the void of space, with a murky, dark structure flowing across its surface. In these blurry photos, just a big sunspot can be seen. Sunspots appear when the Sun's magnetic field is about 2,500 times greater than Earth's.
The strong magnetic field causes the magnetic pressure to rise as the atmospheric pressure outside falls. Due to the concentrated magnetic field's ability to obstruct the flow of hot, fresh gas from the Sun's interior to its surface, the object's temperature is lowered compared to its surroundings. Additionally, sunspots are dark because the surrounding area is at least 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than them. The temperature of the Sun's outer atmosphere, though, can exceed one million degrees.
Earlier this month, the Sun released an X-flare, a powerful solar storm. It disrupted the transmission across North America on Aug. 7. It was so strong that space weather forecasters had to issue warnings due to the energetic particles striking the planet.
The X1.5-rated flare was the 20th X flare in the 11-year solar cycle, which will peak in 2025. The most powerful type of solar flare is called an X flare.
What Are Sunspots?
Sunspots are black, planetary-sized areas with powerful magnetic fields visible on the Sun's surface. They can produce eruptive phenomena like solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). They serve as our windows into the intricate interior of the Sun.
Because they are cooler than their surroundings, these areas of the Sun appear darker. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the umbra, the center of the galaxy, is around 6,300 degrees Fahrenheit (3,500 degrees Celsius), whereas the photosphere is roughly 10,000 F (5,500 C).
The frequency and size of sunspots visible on the surface represent the level of solar activity throughout the Sun's 11-year magnetic field-driven cycle. Sunspots have captivated solar observers for hundreds of years because they represent our window into the Sun's intricate magnetic innards.
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