It’s back! After unleashing the strongest geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years, the notorious sunspot cluster AR3664 is once again visible and still spewing copious amounts of radiation into space.
On Friday, Earth was hit by the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years. Intense solar activity sent bursts of radiation toward Earth, causing fluctuations in the upper atmosphere that led to disruptions in the power grid and radio blackouts, among other technologies and infrastructure.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecasted a “severe solar storm” that’s expected to hit Earth tonight, according to a release.
Inclement weather on the Sun’s surface could affect infrastructure on Earth and in space, scientists are predicting, as our host star approaches its solar maximum.
The Sun is a hot mess right now. Solar maximum is fast approaching, and a giant dark spot on the surface of the Sun keeps growing while spewing radiation out to space in the process.
Some train track circuits are at the mercy of distant storms on the Sun’s surface, researchers found, which could cause train signals to jump from red to green and vice versa as a result of extreme space weather.
That massive ball of hot gas at the center of our solar system is responsible for keeping our planet nice and balmy, but its also the source of some huge astronomical disruptions. Earlier this week, two enormous solar flares erupted from the Sun, knocking out radio signals across the U.S.