Huge sunspot could burst and fling solar flares at Earth: What it means

A huge sunspot has space weather experts worried since it has doubled in size in the last 24 hours. If the unstable patch on the surface of the sun bursts, it could fling solar flares in the direction of the earth. 

While a solar flare isn’t expected to hit the earth just yet, there’s a high likelihood of it happening if the sunspot continues to grow and behave in an unstable manner. 

As per Spaceweather.com “Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big. Today, it’s enormous. The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours. AR3038 has an unstable ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that harbours energy for M-class solar flares, and it is directly facing Earth.”

What are the chances of solar flares hitting earth?

Firstly, a sunspot is a dark region popping up on the surface due to magnetism inside the burning mass. The duration of a sunspot can range from a few hours to a few months, and they are only considered “dead” when they begin to break apart. 

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All sunspots don’t produce solar flares, but when they do, the earth can get impacted. However, there’s always a chance that sunspots will produce solar flares that won’t hit the earth. 

Many of the sun’s flares are shot directly into space. 

What happens if the solar flare hits the earth?

The solar flare has been classified as an M-class flare, as per Spaceweather.com’s analysis. 

This means that upon hitting the earth it could cause some brief radio blackouts around the poles and there might be some satellite connection issues as well. There can be solar storms of varying strengths too. 

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As per NASA, “The good news is that Earth largely protects us from the damaging impact of solar flares by using its magnetic field. They’re not threatening the health of humans on Earth but sometimes pose a threat to astronaut safety.” 

On the plus side, the solar flare is likely to do wonders for natural light displays, like the Northern Lights. Auroras are examples of the earth’s magnetic field being bombarded by solar winds, resulting in pretty blue and green displays.