New footage shows an “unstable sunspot” erupting solar eruptions during a five-hour stormy explosion of activity.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, (SDO), captured the sequence of eruptions from sunspot over five hours on Tuesday October 26.
Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the Sun’s surface, because they are cooler than other parts areas (although they’re still very hot, around 6,500°F).
Amazingly, these sunspots can become many times bigger than the whole of the Earth.
This recent series of eruptions occurred on the ‘limb’ of the Sun – its edge as seen from Earth – meaning it was pointed away from us.
Scientists should be able to see the region better when it rotates in view of Earth in the next few hours (the Sun rotates around its axis once every 27 days).
SDO is a NASA satellite that has been observing the Sun since 2010, when it launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“At least half a dozen explosions took place during this period.” [SDO’s] brief movie,’ reported space tracking site SpaceWeather, as quoted by Space.com.
“The blast site is just behind the Sun’s edge. It’s almost certain that it’s an unstable sunspot.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), shows the series eruptions from the sunspot.
Sunspots refer to areas that appear darkened on the Sun’s surface. They appear in areas with strong magnetic fields. They are the visual indicators of areas where strong magnetic fields have emerged from within the Sun’s interior.
Sunspots, in contrast to the bright Sun’s face, are actually only dark.
It would be as bright as a full-moon if you could take an average sunspot from the Sun and place it somewhere else in the night sky.
Sunspots form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong – They are strong enough to keep some of Sun’s heat from reaching the surface.
Magnetic fields that are close to sunspots generate active regions on the Sun. These regions can then often spawn disturbances, such as solar flares and coronal masses ejections (CMEs).
These events can pose a threat to astronauts and cause damage to satellites, which can result in havoc for Earth’s communications systems.
Pictured, a sunspot observed in high resolution by the GREGOR Solar Telescope in Spain at the wavelength 430 nm. A sunspot has two parts. One is the dark part (called “the umbra”) and the other is the lighter part around it (called “the penumbra”).
Sunspots are a common sight on our Sun during the years around solar maximum – when our star is at its most active.
The solar maximum marks the middle of the Sun’s solar cycle, which lasts for about 11 years (although it can be as short as eight years and as long as 14 years).
Solar minimums mark a period of lower activity on the Sun. This is when sunspots as well as solar flares are less frequent.
This solar slowdown often causes temporary cooling of Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA stated that the Earth was in a deep freeze when the sun entered a solar minima between 1650-1710.
We’re still fairly near the beginning of the current solar cycle, called solar cycle 25, which started in December 2019.
Solar cycle 25 is expected to peak in 2025 and continue until about 2030.
WHAT IS THE SOLAR CYCLE?
The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas that moves, generating a powerful magnetic field.
The solar cycle is a cycle in which the magnetic field experiences a change.
Every 11 years or so the Sun’s magnet field flips completely. This means that the suns north and south poles change places.
The solar cycle has an effect on activity on the Sun’s surface, such as sunspots that are caused by Sun’s magnetic field.
Every 11 years, the Sun’s magnet field flips. This means that the Suns north and south poles change places. The solar cycle influences activity on the Sun’s surface. Stronger phases (2001) have more sunspots than weaker ones (1996/2006).
One way to track solar cycle is to count the sunspots.
The start of a sunspot cycle is called a “solar minimum”, or when the Sun has fewer sunspots. As the sunspots increase, solar activity will rise.
The solar maximum, which is the time when the Sun has more sunspots, is located in the middle of the solar cycles.
As the cycle ends it fades to the solar minimum and then a fresh cycle begins.
During the solar cycle, there are also giant eruptions of the Sun, such solar flares or coronal mass ejections.
These eruptions can cause Earth to feel the effects of powerful bursts energy and material.
Executions can, for example, cause lights in space, known as aurora, or affect radio communications and the electricity grids.