Giant sunspot triggers solar flares, risking global radio disruptions

A sunspot nearly 160,000 km (about 15 times the Earth's width) wide has appeared on the Sun. The AR3664 spot could have serious consequences, including disruptions in radio network operations. The spot has emitted a massive X-class flare towards Earth.

A colossal sunspot approximately 160,000 km wide has appeared on the Sun. According to livescience.com, it's large enough to potentially cause effects akin to those of the solar storm of 1859. However, disruptions to our daily lives could be significantly more significant, with the world becoming far more electrified.

Live Science reports that the AR3664 sunspot has grown recently, making it one of the largest and most active sunspots observed in this solar cycle. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned on Tuesday, 7 May, about the increased risk of solar flares due to this sunspot.

Numerous strong solar flares have occurred recently. The peak of a massive X-class flare, the highest class, occurred on 9 May at 10:13 AM GMT. Successive classes are ten times smaller than their predecessors. After the X class, we have the M class, then C, B, and A. A-class flares have no significant effect. In each class, the strength of the flares is determined by a number from 1 to 10 (for the X class, these can be higher values).

We've been dealing with many intense flares lately. According to information from spaceweatherlive.com, in the last 24 hours, there has been an X-class flare of strength of 3.98. Live Science mentions the consequences of an earlier X-class flare of strength 2.25. It led to interruptions in shortwave radio operations in Europe and Africa.

Communication failures are caused by solid bursts of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted during eruptions. The radiation heads towards Earth at the speed of light, ionizing the upper part of the atmosphere. This radiation should not be confused with coronal mass ejections (CME), where plasma and magnetic fields move significantly slower.

According to forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the coming days could be rich in sky phenomena. The upcoming geomagnetic storm might result in numerous auroras visible from Earth. Several of the flares were associated with coronal mass ejections. We can expect intense geomagnetic storms on the nights of 10th and 11th May.