A Wake-up Call from the Sun

BIG SUNSPOT ALERT: A potentially dangerous sunspot is emerging over the sun’s southeastern limb. Yesterday, while it was still partially eclipsed by the edge of the sun, it produced an impulsive M6-class solar flare (shown above). The true value of the flare may have been X-class.

This appears to be the same behemoth sunspot that Mars rover Perseverance saw from Jezero Crater last week. Now it is turning toward Earth. Strong geoeffective flares are increasingly likely as the sunspot lines up with our planet in the days ahead.

The Big event may lie ahead when the “Behemoth Sunspot” is directly aimed toward Earth.

SPACEWEATHER.COM NEWS: January 3, 2024

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH–CANCELED: A CME expected to graze Earth’s magnetic field on Jan. 2nd has either missed or it is approaching more slowly than expected. Either way, a geomagnetic storm is now unlikely. The CME was hurled into space by the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25, an X5-class explosion on New Year’s Eve. If Earth had been directly in the line of fire, we might now be experiencing strong-to-severe geomagnetic storms. CME impact alerts: SMS Text

STRANGELY-MAGNETIZED SUNSPOT: There’s something strange about sunspot AR3536. Its magnetic field is cockeyed. This magnetic map from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows what we mean (image above).

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