Since the beginning of the year, the Earth has suffered many solar storms. But why has the Sun suddenly become so much more intense than usual? Find out.
With three unstable sunspots currently facing Earth, there’s a 70% chance that one of them could explode and spew out an X-class solar flare that sends a solar storm to our planet. . But this is not an isolated event. Since the beginning of 2023, Earth has been subjected to numerous solar storms caused by coronal mass eruptions (CMEs) and solar flare eruptions. Among them were two Class X solar flares that caused radio blackouts in Australia, New Zealand and South America. But the question is why the Sun has suddenly become unstable and what is the reason behind this increased Sun activity. Read to find out.
Solar storm raging The earth
In the past twelve days alone, Earth has suffered a CME-induced solar storm, two Category X storms. solar flame eruptions and a few M-class solar flare eruptions. In all of 2022, we have never seen more intense solar activity. And astronomers believe this is directly related to the fact that the Sun reaches a climax in its cycle of activity.
Currently, the Sun is in its 25th solar cycle. For the uninitiated, the solar cycle is the 11-year period during which the Sun undergoes changes in its magnetic activity, sunspot number, and overall solar activity. Each solar cycle consists of a peak and a trough, known as the sun’s maximum and minimum. During the Sun’s maximum, activity on the Sun increases dramatically, and this is the period when solar storms and solar flares are seen at their highest. It should be known that we started counting solar cycles in 1755.
The Sun entered its 25th solar cycle in 2019 and is expected to reach its maximum in July 2025. And this is the main reason why the Sun is suddenly so active. The peak of a solar cycle is usually marked by a large number of sunspots appearing together on the surface of the Sun. On average, during its maximum, the Sun can have up to 180 sunspots at once. So far, the highest number of sunspots we’ve seen on the Sun at the same time is 8, which happened two days ago, on January 11.
Now, it is predicted that the frequency and magnitude of Sun storm The activity will increase over the next two years until it reaches the maximum of the sun. So the Earth is in for a rough ride. If Earth were hit by a G5-class solar storm, it could not only damage satellites and disrupt wireless communications such as internet services, cellular networks, and GPS, it could also cause grid problems. electricity and even damage electronic devices such as pacemakers on Earth.
