The sun releases its strongest glow in 7 years

Solar flare is measured at . It is the most powerful solar flare since 2017, and is ranked among the 20 largest solar flares ever recorded.

the Data The Space Climate Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States indicates that The sunspot region has been identified as AR 3664 Produced a huge flare classified as X8.7 May 14: This is the most powerful such eruption released by the Sun since 2017. The next day, another flare measuring X3.4 was created, indicating that the Sun is approaching its period of greatest activity within the current solar cycle.

Solar Max is here

X-class flares are the most powerful flares our Sun can produce. according to condition The location of both flares published in Science Alert indicates that further solar storms from the AR 3664 sunspot region are unlikely, however, a sunspot region elsewhere in the Sun appears to be about to appear and has already generated a flare X2.9 15 May. This means they can register New solar flares in the coming days.

Last week, there were already powerful solar flares, creating multiple auroras that lit up the sky in different parts of the planet, with consequences for radio and satellite communications, among other effects. This increase in solar activity may finally mean that We have reached the solar limitIt is its peak intensity in the current 11-year solar cycle: although initial estimates of its arrival were around 2026, new studies indicate that it will begin to have an impact between the middle and the end of this year.

During the Maximum solar powerThe positions of the Sun's magnetic poles change, coinciding with an increase in other solar activities. In this period, sunspots are considered essential, because they are areas of the solar surface where the magnetic field is temporarily stronger than the surrounding areas, generating the conditions necessary for very intense explosions to occur.

This is just the beginning

When solar particles reach the Earth's magnetosphere, the resulting interaction produces aurora borealis and other effects, such as communications blackouts or power grid surges. The flare was rated X8.7 on May 14 by SWPC As the strongest in the last 7 years: An eruption of this intensity has not been recorded since 2017. In addition, this phenomenon was among the 20 most powerful solar flares recorded to date.

Although solar cycles still represent many unsolved mysteries to science, it is known that the current solar cycle has been much more active than original official predictions, suggesting that the solar maximum will also be active. Some specialists believe that A decisive moment It will arrive from July 2025, and we are currently only seeing the beginning of the period of greatest activity.