M3.6-Class Solar Flare Recorded After Nearly a Month of Calm
Scientists have recorded the strongest solar flare since 10 October, an M3.6-class event. There are no signs yet that the ejected plasma will reach Earth, and no serious consequences are expected.
Scientists have recorded a solar flare of class M3.6. It is the strongest flare since 10 October, meaning the first of such power in almost four weeks. The report comes from the portal "TengriLife", citing space weather observers.
According to the researchers, the event is fairly modest in absolute terms, but it stands out against an almost complete absence of flares over the past month. The flare site on the Sun is not very far from Earth: in "H-alpha" images it appears as a bright spot to the left of, and slightly below, the centre of the solar disk. Plasma clouds ejected from there could therefore in theory reach our planet, but nothing of the kind has been observed so far. The scientists note that the information may be updated later.
Will more flares follow?
Experts note that a strong flare after a long quiet spell raises the question of whether it was a one-off or the start of a series. By initial assessment, the Sun currently has enough energy for individual flares, but a series is unlikely.
The sunspot group
The flare originated in sunspot group No. 4566. Its area is relatively small, about 300 millionths of the Sun's visible hemisphere. For comparison, the largest sunspot groups in history have reached 2,000–3,000 such units.
A week earlier the Sun also threw out a giant prominence about 500,000 kilometres long. Despite its size, preliminary calculations suggest scientists do not expect serious consequences for Earth.
