sunspots abound Double the size of Earth threatens ours

• A sunspot got four times bigger and is now facing Earth.
• The magnetic field of sunspot AR3038 could cause M-class solar flares.
• Coronal mass ejections are the explosive jets of solar material.

sunspot got four times bigger and is now facing Earth. Tony Phillips claims AR3038’s magnetic field might create M-class flares.

Sunspots are dark spots on the sun’s surface where the flow of electric charges from the sun’s plasma creates strong magnetic fields. But these magnetic fields also snap all of a sudden. Soon after the snap, the sunspots give off energy in the form of solar flares, which are bursts of radiation. Coronal mass ejections are the explosive jets of solar material that are sent out by solar flares (CMEs).

Read more:  ESA solar orbiter captures new and detailed pictures of the Sun

Live Science says that when a flare is going on, radio blackouts happen over places on Earth where the sun is shining. The report also says that these blackouts are ranked from R1 to R5 in order of how bad they are. The coming CME could cause more than just radio blackouts. This solar flare could also cause some events that aren’t dangerous and might even be pretty cool. As Space.com says, we might even see auroras with bright colors.

Read more: Before the storm makes a direct hit on Earth, a solar ‘tsunami’ causes a radio blackout – radiation fears