MASSIVE SUNSPOTS AND SOLAR FLARES: THE SUN HAS GONE WRONG AND SCIENTISTS DON’T KNOW WHY

(This article was originally published on The Conversation as "Massive sunspots and huge solar flares mean unexpected space weather for Earth."​).

If you still have your solar viewing glasses from the eclipse, now is a good time to slap them on and look up at the sun. You’ll see two big dark areas visible on our star. These massive sunspots are regions of intense and complicated magnetic fields that can produce solar flares—bursts of high-energy radiation. You can just make them out with solar viewing glasses, but they’re better viewed through a solar telescope.

These two huge sunspots are currently causing quite a bit of consternation and interest. The solar storms they’ve sent toward Earth may affect communications and other technologies like GPS and radio signals. They’re causing amazing displays of the northern and southern lights. And space weather scientists like us are excited because we wouldn’t normally expect this much activity from the sun at the moment.

The sun goes through 11-year cycles of solar activity. What scientists call a solar maximum is the time in the cycle when the sun is putting out the most energy. That’s when we tend to see the most sunspots, solar flares and associated solar storms. Some solar maxima are larger or more active than others—such as the 1990 to 1991 solar max. But this last cycle, which peaked in 2014, was quite small, and there were few large geomagnetic storms.

We’re heading into the bottom of solar minimum, when the sun tends to have fewer sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections—large expulsions of plasma, electrons and ions, and magnetic fields. But despite where we are in the sun’s cycle, activity on the sun has dramatically picked up over the past few days. On and off, these two sunspots have been flaring and shooting out coronal mass ejections, directed toward Earth.

So what’s going on with the sun? And should we be concerned about this somewhat out-of-character solar behavior?

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR:



On September 4, the sun started sputtering. A moderately large flare (classified as an M5.5) erupted at approximately 18:30 Coordinated Universal time (UTC). It produced a coronal mass ejection aimed at Earth.

The sun continued to flare on September 5. A solar energetic particle event from the previous day’s activity arrived at the Earth, where it likely affected radio communications as well as the health of satellite systems.

On September 6, the sun produced two massive X-Class flares. This is the category for the strongest of all solar flares. NASA announced one was the most powerful since at least 2008. It produced another coronal mass ejection.


Much more and video on link : http://www.newsweek.com/solar-minimum-sun-activity-solar-flare-baffling-scientists-661695


Well worth a read.

All this extreme space weather... must be man made space climate change...

Why do you talk suck wank, really?

Why do you talk such wank, really though?

Well... I thought it was funny...!

Tom is the forum village idiot. He makes Benny from Crossroads seem like Stephen Fry.

Okay Tommy, the scientists "don't know why"...so, do you know why?

Your article says nothing new cos there was also x flare in 2008 which was also during solar minimum...


How long has the sun been there compared to how long we have been closely observing it, Eddie...?



So how can anyone claim to know what is normal from such a short time of observation...?

I forgot you know more than any article.

The article says there was x flare in 2008...


Which was in the middle of last solar minimum...

because global warming

In the papers today, Global Warming a myth, so start opening up the mines, get rid of these stupid "green taxes" and sack all the experts who jumped on the gravy train. CO2 is good for the Planet, makes things grow.

smelly-bandit wrote:
because global warming

Your idiocy really knows no bounds,  does it Your SlimySmellyBumness  ???

nicko wrote:
In the papers today,   Global Warming a myth,    so start opening up the mines, get rid of these stupid "green taxes" and sack all the experts who jumped on the gravy train.   CO2 is good for the Planet,  makes things grow.

Yeh,  right...

One mysterious and unqualified newspaper article claims to disprove the findings, studies, replications, and agreements from over 97% of the world's qualified and relevent scientific experts..

References please,  nicko  ?!?

97% funded by govt to 'find' what they were paid to 'find'... and all based on speculative biased 'theory'...

Tommy Monk wrote:
97% funded by govt to 'find' what they were paid to 'find'... and all based on speculative biased 'theory'...

More outright lies from the Tommy/Smelly back corner of the forum...

Why would governments want to pay for your imagined pro-'climate change' "lies and propaganda",   when mining, oil and gas companies are among the largest donors to so many guvm'nts  ???

The current American, Russian, Korean, Brazilian, Indonesian, Nigerian, Malaysian, and Australian governments are all pro-fossil fuels and anti-science with many of their energy and (anti)environmental policies..

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:
because global warming

Your idiocy really knows no bounds,  does it  Your SlimySmellyBumness  ???

no there is no upper limit to the idiots i know