A sunspot four times the size of Earth can currently be observed on the surface of the Sun. According to astronomers, it is large enough to be seen even without the aid of a telescope, reports the independent.
However, be careful not to look at it with the naked eye, which could permanently damage the retina. Therefore, Eclipse glasses are recommended, as the lenses are designed to block the sun’s harmful UV and infrared rays.
South Korean astronomer Bum-Suk Yeom uploaded an image of this sunspot, named AR3310, showing its scale next to a small planet Earth.
canada fires
The massive wildfires in Canada also create a natural smoke filter that allows for good viewing of sunspots in parts of North America, some observers say.
In fact, the thick smoke released reduces the brightness of the sun, especially at the end of the day, and reveals the sunspot, reports the specialized site spaceweather.com. Several images have been posted on social media showing this dark spot in the bright sun.
3700°C
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the Sun’s surface that appear as dark spots. These are regions where the Sun’s magnetic fields are particularly active and intense, preventing some of the heat from its core from reaching the atmosphere.
A large sunspot can have a temperature of around 3700°C. If this seems very high, it is actually much lower than the Sun’s photosphere (its surface), where it is above 5500°C.
In fact, if we took a sunspot and placed it in the night sky, it would be as bright as a full moon, says spaceweatherlive.com.
Solar maximum in 2025
The sun is currently preparing to reach the peak of activity in its eleven-year cycle, during which time sunspots like this are most likely to appear.
The number of sunspots varies during the solar cycle: at solar maximum, solar activity peaks, and the sun has many more sunspots than at minimum, about six years later.
The last solar minimum occurred in 2019 and the next solar maximum is projected for 2025, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Center for Space Weather Prediction.
Point AR3310 is currently in front of Earth. It takes about two weeks for a sunspot to move from the east side to the west side, as seen from Earth.
Source: BFM TV
