Friday, December 20News That Matters

Tag: sunspot

Solar Orbiter Captures Most Detailed Images of the Sun Yet

Solar Orbiter Captures Most Detailed Images of the Sun Yet

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space
From a staggering distance of 74 million kilometers, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter has delivered breathtaking new images of the Sun, showcasing unprecedented details of our closest star. Despite the vast distance, the Orbiter's advanced instruments have captured some of the highest-resolution images ever taken, shedding light on the Sun's magnetic and plasma dynamics. Launched in 2020, the Solar Orbiter is on a mission to unravel the Sun's mysteries, from its solar wind to the complex behavior of its magnetic field and dynamic eruptions like solar flares. Among its objectives is producing detailed, high-resolution imagery of the Sun's surface, a feat it accomplishes using cutting-edge instruments: Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI): A German contribution capturing the Sun's ma...
Sunspot Region AR 3697 Returns with a Bang, Unleashing Powerful X-Class Flares

Sunspot Region AR 3697 Returns with a Bang, Unleashing Powerful X-Class Flares

Breaking News, Environment, Space
The sunspot region responsible for the glorious auroras that shimmered over most of Earth in early May is back, and it's still engaging in shenanigans. Known previously as AR 3664, this region was behind several X-class flares, including the most powerful of the current solar cycle. After rotating away from view onto the far side of the Sun in the middle of May, it re-emerged in style with a brand new name – AR 3697. On May 27, AR 3697 erupted with another powerful X-class flare, this time an X 2.8. Since then, it has continued its activity, producing four more X-class flares, bringing the total to five as of the latest reports. The sequence of events began on May 29 with an X1.45 flare, followed by an X1.1 flare on May 31. On June 1, AR 3697 unleashed two more flares, an X1.03 and a...