4 July 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A Kansas astronomer says a recent uptick in solar activity being monitored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) could lead to interesting effects on Earth.
KSNT 27 News spoke with Brenda Culbertson, a Solar System Ambassador with NASA, who said scientists are monitoring an increased number of activity from the sun. This comes shortly after a sunspot, appearing as a large dark spot on the sun’s surface, that was more than 10 times larger than the Earth could be seen on the sun.
A sunspot is described by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a dark area on the sun that comes about as a result of intense magnetic flux pushing up from within the sun. Darker areas on the sun’s surface are actually cooler than the rest of the sun at 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the normal surface temperature of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The NOAA keeps track of space weather using its Solar Cycle Progression chart which gives predictions for the amount of sunspots each month. This chart shows that the number of sunspots counted by the NOAA for June was 163. The last time there was more than 163 sunspots was in August, 2002. Not only did June break a 21-year record for sunspots, it also had more than twice the predicted number of sunspots.
The NOAA recorded this activity for the current solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, in a time-lapse from December 2019 to April 2023. The effects of the increased solar activity could be seen across much of the country recently, including in Kansas, when the Northern Lights appeared over many states during an intense geomagnetic storm.
Culbertson said sunspots can lead to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) where solar flares erupt from the sun’s surface, creating a solar wind that can collide with Earth’s magnetic field. Aside from increased aurora activity, a CME can lead to radio outages, satellite disruption and an increase in Earth’s temperatures. However, Culbertson said there is no reason to panic as scientists have not seen a large output of solar energy during the current solar cycle and are constantly monitoring the sun for any sign of changes.
To learn more about how NASA is keeping up with solar activity, click here.