Sun spot cycle #24 has been a BUST! We just came out of an eleven day event of ZERO sun spots which was preceded by many multiple days of a solar minimum in a time when we should be seeing a major increase in sun spots on the way to the next top in cycle 24. What’s up? Are we about to catch-up, and I mean that in a not too good way?
We currently have three sun spots visible and the newest one (#1069) is coming on strong and fast!
Good old number #1069 is really a couple of planet-sized holes with at least an M class rating. We’re not talking automobiles here. Scientists classify solar flares according to their x-ray brightness in the wavelength range 1 to 8 Angstroms. There are 3 categories: X-class flares are big; they are major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. M-class flares are medium-sized; they can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare. Compared to X- and M-class events, C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth.
So, could #1069 be on the way to an X-rating? Who knows, but at least we’re now getting some action.
From a sun spot will eventually come a solar flare. A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma-rays. Most often these bursts of energy head in directions away from the earth. Sometimes they don’t!
With the increased sun activity will come increased earth activity: it just works that way!
We get such things a galactic warming (and global), increased earthquake activity, increased hurricane action, and more power tornadoes to mention a few not so good consequences of the peak solar cycle. Let’s just hope the sun isn’t into catching-up too fast- like all at once!
