NASA spacecraft spotted a record number of sunspots on the Sun: what it means

Scientists have seen hundreds of sunspots in images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The photos were taken back on August 8, but only now have they been able to analyze the satellite images.

According to scientists, a record number of spots appeared on the Sun within 24 hours, creating solar storms on Earth. This is reported by Space.com.

In the photo, sunspots may look very tiny, but in fact, these dark areas on the surface of the Sun are the size of the Earth. The spots show strong magnetic fields that can cause solar flares, which emit pulses of electromagnetic radiation into space. These are explosions that lead to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can create solar storms on Earth.

"This 25th solar cycle is turning out to be much more active than originally predicted by expert scientists who predicted this cycle back in 2019," said Shawn Dahl, a scientist at the US National Space Weather Administration (NOAA).

Solar Cycle 25 has already made a dangerous name for itself with intense geomagnetic storms that have created stunning auroras around the world, especially from atypical viewpoints. After the photos are taken, it may also take the lead for the largest daily sunspot number (SSN).

In a recent release, the U.S. Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said that using measurements from its resources, the value was 337 pieces of dark areas, the first time scientists have seen so many daily sunspots since March 2001.

Scientists remind that August 8 was a very busy day for regions with active sunspots. This was only the beginning of a period that lasted until August 10, during which solar flares released five CMEs towards the Earth, which led to the release of powerful geomagnetic storms for our planet on the weekend of August 11-12.

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