A massive sunspot that has doubled in size in only 24 hours is now facing Earth. With it pointing to Earth, that means it could send a solar flare our way. Sunspots are dark areas on the sun’s surface that have bursts of radiation. Sunspots appear darker because they are cooler than other areas of sun.
Sunspots form over areas where the sun’s magnetic fields are stronger. They are so strong that it prevents some heat within the sun from reaching its surface.
This Sunspot is known as AR3038. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows how the Sunspot has changed over the past days.
“Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big. Today, it’s enormous,” reads the SpaceWeather.com website. “The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours.”
The magnetic field associated with the sunspot means it could potentially send an M-class solar flare at Earth, the second largest type. However, it is not known whether this will be the case, according to Newsweek.
If strong enough, solar flares can cause disruption on Earth. Those disruptions can interfere with radio communication networks and navigation systems.
