Jakarta –
Sunspots are natural phenomena that can be found on the surface of the Sun. These coronal holes are generally influenced by magnetic activity which can inhibit the Sun’s heat convection. But, does it have an impact on Earth?
Not long ago, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observations succeeded in finding large sunspots which in appearance looked like deep holes.
The high-speed solar wind flow from this large coronal hole is expected to cause a geomagnetic storm for several days on Earth.
How do sunspots affect the Earth?
However, this phenomenon does not cause great concern for the inhabitants of the Earth. The reason is, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, the geomagnetic storm that will occur between December 4 and 5 2023 is on the G1 and G2 scale.
Geomagnetic storms occur in the form of temporary disturbances to the Earth’s magnetosphere due to the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field.
On the G1 scale (minor) the disturbance from this geomagnetic storm is weak on the power grid in high latitudes, while storms on the G2 scale (moderate) cause small corrections to transformers and satellite orientation.
Large Spots In The Solar Maximum Cycle
The increasing and decreasing activity of sunspots is recorded in an 11-year cycle known as the Schwabe Cycle.
This cycle was introduced by German astronomer Heinrich Schwabe, who observed the Sun from 1826 to 1843 and discovered that the Sun rotates on its axis once every 27 days.
He noticed the Sun transitioning from a quiet period, where no sunspots were visible, to a dark period or solar maximum phase with more than 20 visible sunspots.
When solar activity is at its maximum point, marked by many visible sunspots, it will cause a relative decrease in temperature in the surrounding environment.
This is because the magnetic field is so strong that the magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.
As a result, the magnetic field is concentrated and the flow of hot gas from the inside of the Sun to the surface is blocked.
“Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun,” explained the National Weather Service, quoted from IFL Science.
Despite its somewhat unsettling appearance, this large sunspot contains extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-rays due to cooler surface temperatures so its density is lower than its surroundings.
Increased Sunspots Help Predict Cycles
According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), solar activity is currently increasing.
They predict that solar activity will reach its maximum peak in the next cycle sooner, namely in January to October 2024 with a maximum number of sunspots between 137 and 173.
Previously, expert predictions in December 2019 concluded that the Sun’s peak period would fall in July 2025. Experts also considered that this finding was quite a significant change.
“We expect our new experimental forecasts will be much more accurate than the panel’s 2019 predictions, and unlike previous solar cycle predictions, they will continue to be updated each month with new observations,” said Mark Miesch, an expert with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
This estimate is assessed from observations of ‘doughnuts’ or magnetic circles that form at 55 degrees latitude in both hemispheres of the Sun.
These formations migrate from the poles towards the equator so that when they meet, they cancel each other out. The team dubbed the phenomenon the terminator of the Hale cycle (two solar cycles).
“If you measure how long a cycle is, not from minimum to minimum, but from terminator to terminator, you will see that there is a strong linear relationship between the length of the cycle and the strength of the next cycle,” said Robert Leamon, a NASA scientist.
These terminator events tend to occur two years after the minimum event. By finding more sunspots, the team is increasingly confident in making better predictions about the solar cycle.
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2023-12-08 13:00:00
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