A record number of spots appeared on the Sun
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The number of sunspots has reached a 20-year high, indicating that the Sun is rapidly approaching its explosive peak. This is reported by Live science. The number of sunspots in June 2023 was greater than in any month during the current or previous solar cycles. This suggests that the upcoming peak of solar activity will be much more powerful than originally predicted. Last month, the number of observed sunspots was the highest in nearly 21 years. Time-lapse image of all sunspots that appeared on the Sun in June 2023 According to the Center for Space Weather Prediction, in June 2023, 163 spots appeared on the surface of the Sun. The last time this number of dark spots dotted the Sun was in September 2002, when 187 sunspots were observed. Scientists pay special attention to the number of sunspots, because this is the easiest way to track changes in solar activity. Dark spots are caused by the Sun’s magnetic field, which permeates its surface. At the beginning of each solar cycle, when the Sun is at its most “quiet,” known as solar minimum, there are almost no sunspots. But as the Sun approaches its maximum, the number of dark spots increases dramatically until the star is covered in them, and they begin to emit increasingly frequent and powerful solar flares. The current solar cycle – the 25th recorded by scientists – officially began in December 2019. At the time, scientists predicted that the peak would reach 2025 and be similar in intensity to the previous cycle, which was minor compared to other cycles on record. A slow-motion image of all the sunspots that appeared on the Sun in the first six months of 2023 However, as the 25th solar cycle has progressed, there have been signs that it is much more active than initial predictions suggested, and experts now believe that the upcoming the maximum may come earlier and be much more powerful than the previous one. For the past 28 consecutive months, the number of observed sunspots has exceeded the predicted values from the initial predictions of the solar cycle. For example, the predicted number for June was only 77, less than half the actual number of sunspots. And in December 2022, the number of sunspots reached an eight-year high. On June 29 this year, the sunspot turned into a giant in 48 hours, which was about 10 times wider than the Earth. On July 2, this giant dark spot produced an X-class solar flare (the most powerful type the Sun can produce) that crashed directly into Earth and caused a radio blackout in the western United States and the eastern Pacific Ocean. This is another sign that the solar maximum is fast approaching and will be more extreme than expected. But sunspots are not the only indicator that the future maximum will be stronger than the previous one. In March, the thermosphere – the second-highest layer of Earth’s atmosphere – reached its hottest temperature in nearly 20 years after absorbing excess energy from solar storms that hit our planet in early 2023. We will remind, astronomers noticed a rare phenomenon of comets falling on the Sun: it looked like rain. Read also: What is the Sun like? Astronomers made the most detailed PHOTO in history
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