Our medium-sized star00% Natural Friend’s Older Sister (2025)experiencing intense activity.
Fortunately, this solar activity is normal, but nevertheless spectacular. The NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) — which has been in space investigating the sun since 2010 — captured robust explosions and ejections from the sun's surface over the last week.
Similar to storm seasons or climate patterns on Earth, the sun experiences a cycle of weather, which lasts for 11 years. During the solar cycle, activity increases for some 5.5 years, then decreases, then picks up again.
"It's the space equivalent of hurricane season. We're coming into another one," Mark Miesch, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, told Mashable earlier in 2023.
SEE ALSO: NASA spacecraft flies right through sun explosion, captures footageIn this current cycle, solar activity will peak around July 2025. That's why you're seeing these fireworks below. The activity includes seven solar flares (explosions of light from the sun's surface) and 18 coronal mass ejections (when the sun ejects super hot gas, called plasma, from its surface).
The SDO spacecraft captures vivid images of the sun every 10 seconds. You're seeing impressive detail. "Every image is eight times the resolution of HD video," NASA explains.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Earth's atmosphere, thankfully, shields our bodies from the impacts of solar flares and related activity. This includes things like X-rays and energetic particles emitted from the sun. Meanwhile, Earth's potent magnetic field (generated by Earth's metallic core) deflects many particles from solar storms and protects us from the sun's relentless solar wind, a continuous flow of particles (electrons and protons) from our star.
Yet future solar storms pose a great risk to our electrical grid and communications infrastructure. That's why spacecraft like SDO and the Parker Solar Probe are vigilantly observing the sun, allowing us to better understand, predict, and prepare for powerful flares or coronal mass ejections. (To avoid mass grid damage from an incoming solar storm, we can, for instance, temporarily shut off grid power and make sure hospitals are prepared to run on generators.)
"It's not something to lose sleep about, but it's something to take seriously."
Infamously, a potent CME in 1989 knocked out power to millions in Québec, Canada. The CME hit Earth's magnetic field on March 12 of that year, and then, wrote NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald, "Just after 2:44 a.m. on March 13, the currents found a weakness in the electrical power grid of Quebec. In less than two minutes, the entire Quebec power grid lost power. During the 12-hour blackout that followed, millions of people suddenly found themselves in dark office buildings and underground pedestrian tunnels, and in stalled elevators."
On left: the sun during solar maximum. On right: the sun during solar minimum. Credit: NASA / SDO Want more scienceand tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Light Speed newslettertoday.
Most of the flares that hit Earth are harmless and result in the glorious Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, caused by solar particles heating up molecules in our atmosphere. Inevitably, a potent flare will someday impact Earth, but the goal is to anticipate the impacts.
"It's not something to lose sleep about, but it's something to take seriously," emphasized Miesch.
The Mismeasure of Media
Everything that's broken on Twitter right now, from video plays to follower counts
ChatGPT essays and more: How teachers and schools are dealing with AI writing
Joyce’s Unpunctuated Rigmarole of Numerical Spangablasm
Samsung Unpacked stream is set for May 12, 2025
Thelonious Monk and Me
The Starving Artist's Cookbook
What is compassion fatigue? Caregivers explain.
CPU Price Watch: 9900K Incoming, Ryzen Cuts
Staff Picks: Witch
'Mario Kart World' Nintendo Direct: 3 takeaways
iPad (10th gen) deal: $349 at Amazon
The Called Shot by Rich Cohen
Bing & Ruth and Amy & David
4GHz CPU Battle: AMD 2nd
iPad (10th gen) deal: $349 at Amazon
Viral app Retro Pod removed from Apple's app store
The Macaron That Tastes Like Marina Abramovic
Hurricane Laura's impact lingered with nightmarish mosquito swarms
When Oscar Wilde Colluded with the Russians
Staff Picks: Fathers, Fleabag, and the French Toast of Agony by The Paris ReviewRedux: The Thread of the Story by The Paris ReviewApple AirPods deal: $139 at AmazonThe Aesthetic Beauty of Math by Karen OlssonThe Many Lives of Lafcadio Hearn by Andrei CodrescuCooking With Pearl Buck by Valerie StiversThe Woman of a Thousand Faces by Zachary FineBest Nintendo Switch deal: Get Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for $30 at GameStopOn Warnings by Hanif AbdurraqibThe Creative Compulsions of OCD by Adam O’Fallon PriceLearning Curve by Curtis GillespieA Graphic Novel before the Term Existed by James SturmPart Love Letter, Part Cookbook by The Paris ReviewWatch porn with your partner. It could help your relationship.'The Day Before' devs say refunds are coming after disastrous launchDavid Berman, Slacker God by Erin SomersCrying in the Library by Shannon ReedWhat’s the Use of Beauty? by Cody Delistraty'The Day Before' devs say refunds are coming after disastrous launchAuden’s Grumpy Moon Landing Poem by Nina Martyris Did Kanye West cancel a show to spam his Instagram account with weird fashion pictures? Alec Baldwin returns as a totally overwhelmed Donald Trump on 'Saturday Night Live' Amazon's new app will 'see' inside your packages 'Gilmore Girls': 10 modern Andy Murray proves 2016 isn't all bad, receives congrats from J.K. Rowling Jay Pharoah breaks out his bigly Donald Trump impression at the AMAs The Walking Dead Recap: Season 7, Episode 5 Thousands of taxpayers don't want to pay for Buckingham Palace renovation Watch real Comedian Chris Martin points out on Twitter he's not that other Chris Martin Mike Pence tries to end the 'Hamilton' drama while Trump stokes the flames LinkedIn thinks campus recruiting hurts tech sphere diversity London rejoice: Fabric nightclub will reopen After 'Hamilton' audience boos Mike Pence, cast addresses the VP 'Outlander' wine will help you get through the show's most gut Ninjas in Pyjamas beat SK Gaming to win 'CS:GO' champinoship Netflix uses 'Black Mirror' concept device to promote binge watching Strangers step in after woman unleashes racist rant on bus Google's AI Mode search tool gets a voice Drunk Trump supporter disrupts 'Hamilton' performance
1.6068s , 10132.7734375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【100% Natural Friend’s Older Sister (2025)】,Defense Information Network