It has been 8 months into 2020 and the world has faced a lot of problems from the beginning of this year. The year has been no less than an apocalypse for mankind. Australian bushfire, Coronavirus pandemic, Plane crashes, Earthquakes, Floods, Financial Crises, Riots etc are some of the worst things that 2020 gave us. But it doesn’t end here, recently scientists and researchers have discovered a massive sunspot that will soon turn towards the Earth and could result in major strong flares.
According to a report by SpaceWeather.com – a space weather forecasting website, the sunspot AR2770, which diminished earlier this week is expected to increase in size. Sunspots are the dark areas that appear on the surface of the Sun. The reason behind the darkness of the sunspots is that they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. But the temperature of the sunspot is still very hot which is around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
From sunspot AR2770, few minor space flare has emitted which has not caused any major impact other than “minor waves of ionisation to ripple through Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
Astronomer Martin Wise from Florida’s Trenton in the United States of America (USA) who captured the sunspot AR2770, the sunspot AR2770 will soon turn towards the Earth which might affect the electrical operations of the planet.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that if the size of the sunspot AR2770 grew up to 50,000 kilometres in diameter then it will turn into a solar flare. A Solar Flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, mainly observed near its surface. It occurs due to the change in the magnetic field that can lead to a huge explosion. Solar flares are the largest explosive events that occur in our solar system.
A more powerful solar storm will cause “fluctuations of electrical currents in space and energize electrons and protons trapped in Earth’s varying magnetic field.” Besides this, it will severely affect Global Positioning Systems (GPS) connectivity, radio communications, power grids and satellites.
