AR3576, a massive cluster of sunspots four times the size of our planet, has formed on the Earth-facing side of the Sun. The width of the darkened area is 200 thousand kilometers portal Spaceweather.com.
The sunspot group contains at least four nuclei, each larger than Earth. The structure is so large that it can even be seen from Mars, as new images from the Preservance rover show.
Sunspots are dark, cooler areas on the surface of a star. They can produce electromagnetic bursts accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Solar flares occur when magnetic energy accumulates in the sun’s atmosphere and is released as an intense burst of electromagnetic radiation.
According to scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), AR3576 could bring down class X magnetic storms to Earth, the strongest on the scale of cosmic storms. They can cause serious disruptions in radio communications and disrupt the operation of satellites.
Experts stated that the emergence of such a large sunspot indicates that our star is approaching the peak of its 11-year activity cycle.
Earlier astronomers clarified probable timing of the passage of maximum solar activity.