Solar storm warning: Earth faces 'direct' hit as giant sunspot DOUBLES in size in 24 hours

A HUGE sunspot which doubled in size over a 24-hour period is now directly facing Earth, meaning a large solar flare could strike the planet.

Solar Storm: Weather chart shows global movement

The sunspot, known as AR3038, doubled in size between Sunday and Monday night. Now, it has turned to face the Earth, sparking concerns that rapid solar winds could pelt towards the Blue Planet. And stunning footage from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Sunday shows how the huge sunspot has been evolving. 

Experts at Spaceweather.com explained: "Yesterday, sunspot AR3038 was big.

"Today, it's enormous. The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size in only 24 hours.

"AR3038 has an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares, and it is directly facing Earth."

Sunspots are dark regions on the Sun's surface which can emit huge waves of radiation. 

 

Solar storm

A sunspot which has doubled in size has triggered a solar storm warning (Image: Getty )

Sunspot

The sunspot is now directly facing Earth (Image: SDO/HMI)

They form over areas of the Sun which have strong magnetic fields, and sometimes these tangled magnetic fields can spark a solar flare. 

Solar flares are huge explosions from the surface of the Sun that give off intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation.

And if these come into contact with the Earth, they have the potential to cause chaos. 

While the Earth-facing sunspot is yet to fire blast out a solar flare, there is still potential for an M-class flare to strike our planet. 

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Sunspot

Sunspots form over areas of the sun with strong magnetic fields (Image: Getty )

This is the second-strongest type of solar flare, which are ranked A,B,C,M,X, lowest intensity to strongest.

If these do come directly in contact with the Earth's magnetic sphere, this can cause disruption, including radio blackouts and GPS signal failures, impacting communication and navigation systems down below.

An M9 flare, the strongest of the M-class, has the potential to cause a radio blackout lasting as long as 10 minutes to the affected areas of Earth.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is now monitoring the sunspot in case a solar flare shoots towards Earth, but so far has not issued any warnings. 

And while a solar storm can come into contact with the Earth's magnetic sphere and cause some disruption, solar flares do not actually cause any physical harm. 

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Solar storm

Solar flares can cause radio blackouts (Image: Getty )

Solar storm

Solar flares are huge explosions from the Sun's surface (Image: Getty )

NASA explains: "The explosive heat of a solar flare can't make it all the way to our globe, but electromagnetic radiation and energetic particles certainly can.

"Solar flares can temporarily alter the upper atmosphere creating disruptions with signal transmission from, say, a GPS satellite to Earth causing it to be off by many yards."

And while solar flares can be disruptive, they are not as impactful as another type of solar activity, called coronal mass ejections (CME). 

NASA says: "Known as a coronal mass ejection or CME these solar explosions propel bursts of particles and electromagnetic fluctuations into Earth's atmosphere. Those fluctuations could induce electric fluctuations at ground level that could blow out transformers in power grids.

"A CME's particles can also collide with crucial electronics onboard a satellite and disrupt its systems."

 

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