The Sun is currently going through a period of increased activity, which produced the most powerful solar flare of the year, which was photographed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (Solar Dynamics Observatory) of the American space agency NASA.
During periods of high activity, a continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun, known as the solar wind, constantly hits the Earth.
This phenomenon, known as space weather or solar storms, can affect technology on Earth, causing power outages, as well as astronauts in space, but is not dangerous to people on the ground.
What is a solar flare?
Solar storms are a normal part of the Sun's solar cycle.
They occur when the Sun releases enormous amounts of energy in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (coronal mass ejections), emitting light, energy, and solar material into space.
Solar flares are electromagnetic radiation that travels from the Sun at the speed of light and reaches Earth in just over eight minutes.
They often occur in conjunction with coronal bursts, a type of solar activity when large jets of plasma erupt from the corona via explosions of solar winds and magnetic fields, but they move more slowly, at speeds of millions of kilometers per hour.
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Solar storms of varying intensity reach Earth.
Energy from the Sun can create light phenomena in the sky known as the aurora borealis, or aurora australis in the North and the aurora at the South Pole.
How can a solar storm affect Earth?
According to NASA, solar flares and explosions can affect radio communications, power grids, and navigation systems on Earth.
For example, in 2017, two powerful solar flares that erupted from the Sun's surface caused disruptions in devices such as global positioning systems (GPS).
In February 2011, a powerful solar flare disrupted radio communications across China.
Even earlier, in 1989, a solar flare caused a nine-hour power outage for millions of people in the Canadian province of Quebec.
And back in 1859, a massive solar explosion caused a geomagnetic storm that disrupted Australian railway signaling and telegraph lines.
Such threats still exist today.
Research from Lancaster University, England, warns that the rail network in the United Kingdom (UK) should be prepared for a possible solar storm that could cause serious disruption to traffic.
How often do solar storms occur?
The sun is made of hot gas filled with electrical charge, which is constantly moving, creating a strong magnetic field.
This field goes through the so-called solar cycle, during which the Sun's surface regularly alternates between phases of calm and turbulent activity.
Approximately every 11 years, at the peak of the solar cycle, the Sun's magnetic poles, north and south, switch places.
According to an international group of experts jointly sponsored by NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the current cycle, known as the 25th solar cycle, began in December 2019.
The beginning of the solar cycle is called solar minimum.
During this phase, the Sun has the fewest number of sunspots, dark patches that help scientists monitor our star's activity.
As solar activity increases, the number of sunspots also increases.
During the middle of the solar cycle, known as solar maximum, the Sun has the most sunspots and its magnetic poles switch places.
NASA and NOAA state that in the current cycle, the Sun reached its solar maximum over the past year.
In sunspots, which appear darker because they are cooler than their surroundings, huge explosions of light and energy occur.
Most sunspots cover an area approximately the size of Earth, and some are considerably larger.
The possibility of solar storms is greatest at the peak of solar maximum during the eleven-year cycle.
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