Solar monster: Sun explodes with X8.7 eruption, largest of current cycle

The Sun is experiencing the maximum of its solar cycle, so it is not strange that some solar events occur during this period. For example, a magnetic storm hit the Earth between last Friday (10) and Sunday (12), causing northern lights to appear in various parts of the world. This Tuesday (14) scientists revealed that the solar surface produced the largest explosion in the current cycle.

This past weekend the AR3664 sunspot was responsible for some outbursts that caused a magnetic storm that lasted about three days; The X5.8 class was a blast. According to the data, the same sunspot resulted in a new X8.7 class flare. This is the largest eruption recorded in the current solar cycle, which lasts a total of 11 years.

The current cycle started in mid-2019, and experts say the solar maximum could occur between 2024 and 2025. The powerful energy from the Sun’s explosions can interfere with power grids, navigation systems, GPS, and even temporarily destroy the global internet.

Although stronger than the last one, The x8.7 force burst is unlikely to cause any of these problems as it will not result in a magnetic storm.

“Area 3664 produced another X-ray burst as it moved beyond the sun’s western flank! This time it was an The Forecast Center explains in an official release that it probably WILL NOT have any geomagnetic impact on Earth.

Sunburst X8.7

NOAA explains that although it generated a class X8.7 force, the Earth would not be subject to any magnetic effects due to the location of the explosion; If you’re hoping for more aurora borealis, you’ll also be disappointed. Nevertheless, The explosion could cause problems and disrupt radio networks in the sunniest part of the world.

Radio outages due to solar flares are not uncommon; In fact, networks with frequencies up to 20 MHz are experiencing problems in Australia and East Asia. Sunspot AR3664 is expected to continue firing flares over the next few days.

“The largest eruptions are known as ‘Class X eruptions’, which is based on a classification system that separates solar flares according to their strength. The smallest are class A (near background levels), followed by B, C, M and X. Similar to the Richter earthquake scale, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy production. Therefore, X is 10 times M and 100 times C. Each letter class has a finer scale from 1 to 9,” explains NASA.

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