(ORDO NEWS) — A medium-intensity solar flare cut off shortwave radio communications over the Pacific Ocean on the evening of February 7th.
The flare originated from sunspot AR3213, which is currently facing Earth. AR3213 is a massive sunspot that spans 100,000 km on the Sun’s surface.
It is large enough to hold eight Earth-sized planets. On February 7, the spot released an M-class solar flare, which was recorded by the NASA observatory.
According to Spaceweather.com, this event caused shortwave radio to go out at approximately 6:07 pm ET (2307 GMT).
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts , the likelihood of further M-class flares has now risen to 55 percent.
Sunspot AR3213 is also facing Earth and there is a 15% chance that it could produce a higher intensity Class X flare. ball.
Sunspots are areas of high magnetic field strength that can temporarily stop the process of convection on the surface of the Sun.
This results in a significant decrease in temperature in the area, making it darker when viewed from Earth, hence the name sunspots.
Scientists have been observing sunspots for centuries and have determined that their number increases as the sun approaches the peak of its solar cycle.
With each cycle, which takes 11 years to complete, the solar poles flip at their peak, accompanied by many solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Solar flares are eruptions of electromagnetic radiation caused by the sudden release of energy stored in magnetic fields.
This causes material on the Sun’s surface to heat up to millions of degrees in a short period, emitting radiation ranging from radio to gamma rays.
The Earth’s atmosphere absorbs most of the radiation from solar flares.
However, the intense energy from medium to high intensity solar flares can destroy molecules in the upper atmosphere that are used for radio communications and navigation.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.