Defying expectations, solar activity is back in a big way, with the number of sunspots counted on the Sun’s surface last month reaching levels not seen in nearly 23 years, more than twice the number predicted by previous forecasts. This newfound activity signals not only that the Sun is wellread more
The most powerful solar storm in twenty years has just occurred, generated from a large cluster of sunspots that produced five X-class solar flares and three coronal mass ejections that resulted in a weekend-long geomagnetic storm strong enough to cast aurorae as far south as Hawaii, and in the southernread more
Despite expert predictions for a period of prolonged quiet for the Sun, solar cycle 25 has proven to be an active one, with 143 sunspots appearing on the Sun’s surface during February alone, and numerous solar flares erupting from the star’s surface—15 of them powerful X-class events—since the current cycleread more
A sunspot on the far side of the Sun has been discovered to be so large that “it is affecting the way the sun vibrates,” according to Spaceweather.com. The same region also produced a major coronal mass ejection and radiation storm on September 5; luckily for us the eruption isread more