Solar storm danger! Unstable sunspot can send horrifying X-Class solar flares towards Earth today
A massive solar storm may well hit Earth sometime today. Earlier this week, it was reported that a massive region on the Earth-facing side of the Sun was filled with sunspots and magnetic filaments, which make it a highly reactive area prone to explosions. These explosions could throw powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) and spark destructive solar disturbances. Now, the fear has come true as one of the sunspots, AR3165, has turned unstable and is cracking crackling with solar flares. The sunspot has already spewed out a medium solar flare last night and now there are chances of an X-class solar flare eruption anytime today, December 15. If it does happen, it can have scary consequences for the Earth. It has already caused a shortwave radio blackout on Earth.
The report came from SpaceWeather.com which noted on its website, “New sunspot AR3165 is crackling with M-class solar flares. The strongest so far, an M6-class explosion (Dec. 14 @ 1442 UT) caused a shortwave radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean. If current trends continue, the sunspot could produce an X-flare by the end of the day”.
According to the report, the Earth was already subjected to a shortwave radio blackout last night over the Atlantic ocean region. Thankfully, as the region is directly over water without any human population, the effect of it was limited to ships or airplanes in the region. However, an X-class solar flare can completely change the game.
Not only is an X-class solar flare will have a large spread across the Earth, it is also capable of nightmarish consequences. From damaging satellites, disrupting GPS and wireless communications signals to destruction of the internet and power grids, they can bring the Earth to a halt.
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