Yeah umm… don’t panic but NASA has just found a massive—75,000 mile-wide or 120,000 kilometers if you prefer—hole in the sun.
Dubbed as AR2665 by the American Space Agency, scientists have issued warnings saying that it is massive enough to produce dangerous solar flares. The massive sunspot can create radio blackouts on Earth, knock out communications satellites and create dangerous radiation storms. However, it’s too early to know for sure say experts.
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| Image Credit: NASA |
The massive sunspot was first detected by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
The SDO is designed to help us understand the Sun’s influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.
“A new sunspot group has rotated into view and seems to be growing rather quickly. It is the first sunspot to appear after the Sun was spotless for two days, and it is the only sunspot group on the Sun at this moment.”
“The time-lapse movie shows the spot growing as it rotates into view over a 42-hour period.”
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| The sunspot, dubbed AR2665, is 74,560 miles (120,000 kilometers) wide. Image Credit: NASA |
The massive sunspot is larger than our planet and experts say it’s too early to predict how the sunspot will behave in the near future.
Forecasters from NOAA predicted a 25 percent chance of seeing M-class flares today because the sunspot was directly facing our planet.
As noted by experts, sunspots are usually darker and cooler areas on the surface of the sun and are caused by various interactions with the sun’s magnetic field.
Sunspots usually appear in areas of intense magnetic activity. When energy is released, solar flares and MASSIVE sun storms erupt from these areas.
Such sun storms could result in mind-bending auroras on Earth but could also mean lots of trouble for power grids and communication satellites.
Here’s a mind-boggling video:
Speaking to SpaceWeather.com, Bruno Boni de Oliveira, an amateur photographer, said:
“For months I’ve been observing airplanes flying through the sun on their way to Newark airport. However, I’ve never been successful in capturing the perfect shot because the sun is usually too bright for a proper exposure. On July 11th, summer haze and NYC pollution allowed me properly expose the sun at a good angle for the busy air traffic route, just a few minutes before the sunset. As I focused, surprise: There was a sunspot! I quickly checked Spaceweather.com to find out it was the huge AR2665.”