GIANT SUNSPOT

Giant Sunspot Currently Facing Earth and Still Growing Capable of Emitting Powerful Solar Flares
Reported by Katabella Roberts June 23, 2022 Updated: June 23, 2022

This increase in UV rays affects the chemistry of the outer atmosphere and the energy balance of Earth. The idea that sunspots affect Earth’s climate is still largely debated, but it is believed that the increase of sunspots on the surface of the sun can reduce the amount of energy and light distributed to Earth.

A fast-growing giant sunspot that can emit solar flares has more than doubled in size in recent days and is currently facing Earth, according to experts.

Sunspots are dark areas of strong magnetic fields on the sun’s surface. They appear dark because they are much colder than other parts of the sun’s surface, having formed in areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong, according to NASA.

Because of the strong magnetic field, magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases, resulting in lower temperatures.  Very cold start to winter for us and the coldest for many decades.

“The sunspot has doubled in size each day for the past three days and is roughly 2.5 times the size of Earth”, C. Alex Young, associate director for science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, said in an email to USA Today.”

As of June 22, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), which monitors solar flares, has not issued any warnings for them.

“However, if solar flares such as an X1-class solar flare are released from the sun, they can potentially create disruptions to communication satellites and long-distance cables here on earth, wreaking havoc with the world’s internet.”

Another expert, Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo, lead scientist at the SouthWest Research Institute in San Antonio, also stressed that there is no need for concern, explaining: “I want to emphasize there is no need to panic,” and that the sunspots “happen all the time.”  BUT THIS LARGE  ..“We are prepared and doing everything we can to predict and mitigate their effects. For the majority of us, we don’t need to lose sleep over it,” Muñoz-Jaramillo said.