As if the hot weather were no longer a cause for concern, it appears that a giant sunspot looking at the Earth has doubled in size.
That’s right, in the last 24 hours, the active region 3038 in the sun has been quite, well, active.
The news comes when areas around the world are experiencing unprecedented heat, with Iran recording one of the highest temperatures in history this week.
An earth-oriented sunspot has doubled in size. Credit: Alamy
While the news seems quite disturbing, there is no need to panic, as, according to the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Forecasting Office, Robert Steenburgh, the growth of the spot solar is pretty standard. “That’s what sunspots do,” he explained. “Over time, they will generally grow. They go through stages, and then they decay.”
While this is reassuring, some were concerned about the solar flares. For anyone unsure of what a solar flare is, Steenburgh explains to USA Today: “I guess the easiest way to say this is that sunspots are regions of magnetic activity.
Worth seeing active region 3038 this week.
The region has grown and become more complex in the last 24-48 hours and is now the central disk. It is currently listed as Beta-Gamma and @NWSSWPC has given it a 10% chance for Class X Flares. Pic.twitter.com/PQFpJD4g2L
– Mike (@SpaceWxMike) June 20, 2022
“You can think of this as twisting rubber bands. If you have a pair of rubber bands spinning on your finger, they end up twisting too much and breaking. The difference with magnetic fields is that they reconnect. And when they reconnect, it is in this process that an eruption is generated “.
So can active region 3038 cause eruptions?
Well, yes and no, because, according to Steenburgh, the site “doesn’t have the complexity for larger flares,” but it can produce smaller flares.
This means that even if the sunspot produces flares, it is unlikely to reach the earth, which seems like pretty good news if you ask us.
Iran has soared to 52.2 ° C (126 ° F) today.
This is the hottest temperature recorded on Earth this year and one of the highest “presolstici” temperatures ever recorded. pic.twitter.com/rlYTyTlvn7
– US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) June 20, 2022
Yet, even if the flares do not reach the earth, our planet is experiencing unprecedented heat.
This week Iran recorded one of the warmest temperatures ever. In Abadan, a weather station recorded a staggering 126 F (52.2 C), while other parts of Iran recorded highs of 122 F (50 C), as seen on AccuWeather.
To make matters worse, according to the UN, rising temperatures are not taken seriously enough.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in April: “Some government and business leaders say one thing, but do another. In short: they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic.”