USA Today reports that space weather experts are watching a sunspot that is pointing towards Earth.
Scientists say it's nothing new. Magnetic activity on the surface stops heat from reaching the surface. Over time, they decay.
They have been associated with a higher chance of solar flares, eruptions of electromagnetic radiation that can reach the Earth's atmosphere and mess with short- wave radio signals, satellite communications and even the power grid.
You'd need 1.3 million Earths to match the volume of the Sun, so the latest spot has doubled in size in the last three days.
It doesn't have the complexity for the biggest flares. Alex Young is the associate director for science at NASA.
Experts expected the spot to grow.
The acting lead of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather forecast office told the newspaper that sunspots are what they do. They will grow over time. They decay after going through stages.
Solar flares can have real consequences, especially on objects in the sky. In February, M-class flares caused a storm that wreaked havoc on 49 Starlink satellites that had just been launched.
The largest C-flare was X-class, followed by M, C, B, and A, in descending order. The first X-class flares were far more powerful than the images NASA captured last month.
The Sun's current 11-year solar cycle, which kicked off in December, is approaching its most active stage in the middle of the decade.
Muoz-Jaramillo said that we don't need to lose sleep over it unless you want to catch the bright Auroras.
Scientists say that sunspot with potential for solar flares doubles in size overnight.
Northern lights will be visible in areas that normally never see them due to a huge solar explosion.
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