Life on Earth wouldn’t be possible without the Sun providing fuel for the plants to make oxygen. Of course, our star is also keeping some acceptable temperatures for our planet, it makes our organisms create vitamin D, and so on. But getting too close to our beloved Sun will surely unleash our worst nightmares.
NASA spotted a surprising activity of our star. Yesterday (May 29), the Sun unleashed its biggest flare since 2017. However, the solar flare could be a sign of the Sun entering a more active phase than before.
No need to worry
There’s no need to nurture the irrational hysteria of the general public even more during these times of the pandemic and perhaps of the 864746594th apocalyptic speculation. The Sun’s new flare doesn’t pose any threat, and it’s an M-class eruption.
NASA came with some explanations:
Because that minimum is defined by the lowest number of sunspots in a cycle, scientists need to see the numbers consistently rising before they can determine when exactly they were at the bottom,
That means solar minimum is an instance only recognizable in hindsight: It could take six to 12 months after the fact to confirm when minimum has actually passed.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the spectacular moment when the Sun released a significant flare back in September 2017. The flare was categorized as an X8.2-class. X-class are representing the most intense flares, and it was truly Hell unleashed at the surface of the Sun at that time.
Powerful solar flares are often accompanied by a coronal mass ejection. A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a powerful release of plasma near the magnetic field from the solar corona.
A solar flare is a burst of energy manifested as a flash on the Sun, usually observed near its surface. The phenomenon also occurs in close proximity to a sunspot group.
