29 June 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Scientists are monitoring a sunspot that has grown to enormous proportions over the past few days with the potential for more in the days to come.
KSNT 27 News spoke with Brenda Culbertson, a Solar System Ambassador with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), about the “monster sunspot.” She said sunspot 3354, the 3354th sunspot of the current solar cycle, is one of eight currently visible on the sun. However, sunspot 3354 has bloomed to a size 10 times larger than that of Earth all within the span of the last 48 hours.
Culbertson said sunspots are an indication that the sun is more active. During these periods, the sun may eventually experience a solar eruption in the form of a coronal mass ejection (CME) event where energetic particles are blasted through the sun’s corona and out into space. These particles could collide with Earth, leading to radio outages, disruption of electronic messaging and vibrant aurora borealis occurrences.
The aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, were recently seen in Kansas. This event was prompted by increased solar activity, otherwise known as a geomagnetic storm.
While the size of sunspot 3354 is intimidating, Culbertson said it isn’t the largest one on record was the size of Jupiter and around 11 times the diameter of Earth. She stresses that people should avoid trying to see the sunspots without the use of a solar filter as it could lead to permanent eye damage.
Culbertson said the sunspot could continue to grow and lead to interesting results with Earth’s magnetic field in the coming days. She said if anyone wants to keep up with its progress, they can do so by going to spaceweather.com.