SPACE WARNING: Huge sunspot opens on Sun as scientists brace for solar flares
A SUNSPOT is rapidly growing on the Sun and could potentially unleash catastrophic solar flares, scientists have warned.
By SEAN MARTIN
Express.co.uk
Wed, Jun 20, 2018
Sunspots are holes in the Sun’s outer atmosphere which allow a stream of particles and solar flares to depart from the surface.
This can be a problem for Earth if the cosmic particles hit because they can cause our atmosphere to expands and essentially make satellite technology redundant.
Since yesterday, scientists have said the sunspot appeared and grew astonishingly quickly.
The website Space Weather states: “Yesterday, sunspot AR2715 did not exist. Today, it sprawls across more than 60,000 km of solar surface with a primary dark core twice as wide as Earth.
“The dimensions of the fast-growing sunspot group make it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes and a potential source of solar flares. Monitoring is encouraged.”
Solar flares unleash winds which can pummel the Earth.
For the most part, the Earth’s magnetic field protects humans from the barrage of radiation that comes with solar storms, but they can affect satellite-based technology.
Solar winds can heat the Earth’s outer atmosphere, causing it to expand.
This can affect satellites in orbit, potentially leading to a lack of GPS navigation, mobile phone signal and satellite TV such as Sky.
Additionally, a surge of particles can lead to high currents in the magnetosphere, which can lead to higher than normal electricity in power lines, resulting in electrical transformers and power stations blow outs and a loss of power.
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