{"id":2108,"date":"2026-01-04T09:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T06:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/?p=2108"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:49:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:49:44","slug":"sunspots-and-solar-flares-a-timeline-of-occurrences-and-research-results-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/2026\/01\/04\/sunspots-and-solar-flares-a-timeline-of-occurrences-and-research-results-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunspots and Solar Flares: A Timeline of Occurrences and Research Results in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The end of 2025 was marked by the appearance of a solar spot directly facing Earth, similar in parameters to the standard for assessing modern cosmic threats\u2014the “Carrington event.” And in early November 2025, a series of powerful X-class solar flares triggered coronal mass ejections, resulting in extensive aurora borealis displays observed as far south as Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AR 4294-4296 is approximately the same size as the giant sunspot observed by British astronomer Richard Carrington in September 1859, which subsequently spawned the “Carrington Event”\u2014the largest solar storm ever observed. The image, first published by Spaceweather.com on December 2, 2025, shows the sunspot complex next to Carrington’s sketch of the 19th-century giant sunspot. At first glance, the new sunspot complex appears larger. However, in reality, its dark spots cover an area of \u200b\u200bthe solar surface approximately 90% the size of the Carrington sunspot.<\/span><\/p>\n

A massive new sunspot complex, dubbed AR 4294-4296, is facing Earth directly. This dark spot is comparable in size to the infamous sunspot that caused the Carrington Event of 1859\u2014yet it remains undetected.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe new sunspot complex AR 4294-4296 is roughly the same size as the dark spot that caused the infamous Carrington event of 1859. NASA<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The complex, dubbed AR 4294-4296, consists of two distinct sunspot groups, AR 4294 and AR 4296, which are magnetically linked. It first became visible on November 28, 2025, when it turned toward the Earth-facing side of the Sun on the western edge of our star. However, the dark spots were first discovered about a week earlier by NASA’s Perseverance rover, which was observing the far side of the Sun relative to Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new dark spots represent “one of the largest sunspot clusters of the past 10 years” and are capable of generating super-powerful X-class flares\u2014the most powerful type in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) solar flare classification system, Spaceweather.com reported. If this occurs and triggers a coronal mass ejection (CME), the resulting solar storm “will be geoeffective,” they added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Carrington event of 1859 produced a solar flare estimated to be 45 times more powerful than the most powerful solar flare of the past decade, a flare 7 times more powerful than the one that occurred in October 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

If a similarly powerful explosion were to hit Earth today, the radiation would disable all satellites in orbit around our planet, as recent simulations have shown. It would also wreak havoc on Earth, potentially damaging parts of the power grid. Experts estimate the total damage would easily exceed $1 trillion.<\/span><\/p>\n

If AR 4294-4296 is similar in size to the sunspot that produced the Carrington Event, that means a powerful solar storm is likely, right? Yes and no.<\/span><\/p>\n

Larger sunspots have the potential to generate more powerful solar flares. For example, the sunspot that generated the geomagnetic “superstorm” in May 2024 was more than 15 times wider than Earth. However, with sunspots, size isn’t everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nNASA’s Perseverance rover first spotted the active zone AR 4294-4296 from Mars when the sunspot complex was still on the far side of the Sun relative to Earth. NASA<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Whether a sunspot reaches its maximum explosive potential also depends on the configuration of its magnetic field and the frequency of its explosions, meaning that some giant sunspots may be completely harmless.<\/span><\/p>\n

The magnetic fields of the AR 4294-4296 active zone are quite tangled, suggesting the possibility of flares. According to Spaceweather.com, the complex has already generated a potential X-class flare while still on the far side of the Sun. However, despite this, experts say there are no clear signs of a superstorm comparable to the Carrington Event in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists will be particularly careful to monitor the magnetic field of this newest giant for signs of approaching activity. But if it manages to fly past Earth without any flares, these impressive dark spots will likely be large enough to survive more than one orbit around the Sun, meaning they could return for a “second round” sometime around Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sun has been particularly active in recent years, having recently entered the most active phase of its roughly 11-year solar cycle, known as solar maximum. This has resulted in several recent X-class flares, including two consecutive explosions that triggered a G4 (strong) geomagnetic storm between November 11 and 12, 2025. And 2024 saw the largest number of X-class flares recorded in a single year since modern observations began in 1996.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these flares triggered geomagnetic storms on Earth, including an extreme disturbance in May 2024 that was the most powerful in 21 years and produced some of the largest auroras in centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n

The average number of visible dark spots on the Sun’s surface in August 2024 was higher than in any other month since September 2001. The final number was more than twice what experts initially predicted.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the data received, in August 2024, the number of black spots dotting the surface of the Sun reached its highest level in almost 23 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

In August 2024, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a joint operation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, an average of 215.5 sunspots were observed daily on the surface of our star. The last time such a high monthly sunspot count was recorded was in September 2001, during the solar maximum of Solar Cycle 23, when the average was 238.2.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nMost photographs taken from Earth in August 2024 showed large dark spots on the Sun. This photograph was taken from New York City on August 24. Gary Hershorn\/Getty Images<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The sunspot count peaked on August 8, when up to 337 spots were recorded on the Sun, the highest number in a 24-hour period since March 2001.<\/span><\/p>\n

These figures confirm some scientists’ suspicions: we have entered solar maximum. However, we can’t be sure until sufficient time has passed before the sunspot count begins to decline again.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the current solar cycle began in 2020, a team of scientists from the SWPC predicted that Solar Cycle 25 would be relatively weak compared to historical cycles, similar to Solar Cycle 24, which peaked around 2014 and was the weakest maximum in the last 90 years. For example, the average sunspot number predicted for August 2024 was 107.8, less than half the actual number that was published.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nIn August, the Sun’s surface averaged 215.5 sunspots per day. This time-lapse image shows each visible dark spot moving across the Sun during this period. SDO\/ \u015eenol \u015eanl\u0131 \/U\u011fur \u0130kizler<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The SWPC forecast also indicated that maximum solar activity would likely not occur until 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, from the very beginning of the current cycle, sunspot numbers have defied initial predictions. They began to increase in early 2022, reaching an eight-year high by the end of the year. By June 2023, the average sunspot count exceeded that of any month in Solar Cycle 24 and has continued to increase since then.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

As a result, in October last year, the SWPC published a “revised forecast” for Solar Cycle 25, which said solar maximum would likely occur by mid-2024 and would be more active than expected.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe latest monthly sunspot count is the highest since September 2001. Here we can see all monthly counts back to about 1950. SILSO\/Royal Observatory of Belgium<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The increase in sunspots isn’t the only evidence that we’re experiencing solar maximum. In early May 2024, Earth experienced its most powerful geomagnetic storm in over 21 years, which colored an abnormally large portion of the planet’s sky with auroras. Just a few days later, our star erupted with a magnitude 8.7 solar flare\u2014the most powerful solar explosion since 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

In mid-August 2025, sunspots almost completely disappeared on the Sun, indicating a decrease in the number of solar flares, according to the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“The most remarkable feature of recent days is the almost complete disappearance of sunspots on the Earth-facing side of the Sun. Apparently, the same is now happening on the far side,” the Telegram channel said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nX-Ray Astronomy Research Laboratory (XRAS)\/Telegram<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Scientists explained that although the spots are still present, they have shrunk so much that, with a cursory examination, more than four of the nine areas cannot be detected even in high-precision space images.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Since the size and number of sunspots roughly correlate with flare activity, the outlook for the latter is currently bleak. If nothing changes, the number of flares could drop to zero by the beginning of next week, to the delight of weather-dependent people and the misfortune of radio amateurs,” they noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

In early November 2025, a series of powerful X-class solar flares triggered coronal mass ejections, resulting in extensive aurora borealis displays observed as far south as Mexico. But for some solar scientists, the real highlight wasn’t the aurora borealis, but a series of high-quality images of solar activity.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Using the GREGOR solar telescope at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, Spain, researchers observed emission from two X-class solar flares emitted by sunspots in the active region NOAA 14274: one on November 10 and the other on November 11. Capturing such events with a ground-based telescope is a rare occurrence. A study examining these images was published in the journal Research Notes of the AAS in November 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nObservations of the solar active region NOAA 14274 in various wavelengths made with the GREGOR solar telescope in Tenerife, Spain, around 08:33 UT on November 10, 2025, just before the X1.2 flare. AIP\/C.Denker<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“Strong flares occur either on the far side of the Sun, at night, in cloudy weather, in poor viewing conditions, or outside the telescope’s field of view,” said Professor Carsten Denker of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) in a statement. Denker was the lead author of a study on the topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The GREGOR spacecraft’s high-resolution FAST IMAGER telescope accidentally scanned sunspots in the active region NOAA 14274 just 30 minutes before the flare with a gain of 1.2, giving researchers an unprecedented view of the flare’s precursors within sunspots. The area it imaged spanned approximately 110,000 miles by 70,000 miles (about 175,000 km by 110,000 km).<\/span><\/p>\n

“The penumbral filaments, which typically extend radially from the dark core of the umbra, were highly curved and intertwined,” said Dr. Mitu Verma, a solar scientist at AIP and co-author of the study. This demonstrates a strong magnetic field, the perfect environment for an explosive ejecta\u2014and that’s exactly what happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunspots are areas on the Sun’s surface where bursts of electromagnetic radiation break through the star’s magnetic field, creating relatively cool patches that appear black to us due to an optical illusion. Along with the size and frequency of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, the number of sunspots indicates the progress of the roughly 11-year solar cycle.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

During the Sun’s phase of least activity, or solar minimum, there are very few sunspots, or sometimes none at all. For example, in late 2019, shortly before the start of the current solar cycle (Solar Cycle 25), there were 40 consecutive days without visible sunspots. But as the Sun’s magnetic field entangles itself and weakens, the number of sunspots rapidly increases, peaking during solar maximum. During this active phase, the Sun’s magnetic field eventually reverses dramatically, triggering a period of declining solar activity and a decline in sunspot numbers until the entire cycle begins again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunspots can release powerful streams of radiation, or solar flares, when their invisible magnetic field lines are distorted and disrupted, releasing energy into space. These explosive emissions can cause temporary radio interference on Earth and eject massive, fast-moving plasma clouds, or coronal mass ejections (CMEs), toward our planet. When this occurs, it can subsequently cause disturbances in our planet’s magnetic field, known as geomagnetic storms, which can interfere with electronics and create bright auroras in the night sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solar flares can trigger magnetic storms on Earth, disrupting power grids and affecting the migration routes of birds and animals. Severe storms disrupt shortwave communications and navigation systems, as well as power outages in industrial networks. Increased solar activity may expand the geographic range of auroral observations. There is no definitive answer yet as to whether magnetic storms affect human health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solar flares are even more extreme than scientists previously thought, emitting particles at temperatures six times higher than previously thought, according to new research published in early September 2025.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Solar flares are colossal explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere that emit powerful streams of radiation. These events are notorious for disrupting satellites, distorting radio signals, and potentially posing a hazard to astronauts in space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, a team of researchers led by Alexander Russell of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland reports that particles in the Sun’s atmosphere heated by flares can reach a staggering 60 million degrees Celsius (108 million degrees Fahrenheit) \u2013 tens of millions hotter than previously thought, when such temperatures were typically between 10 and 40 million degrees Celsius (18 and 72 million degrees Fahrenheit), according to a study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nThe most powerful solar flare of 2025 will cause radio interference in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. New research suggests that flare particles could reach temperatures exceeding 108 million degrees Fahrenheit (60 million degrees Celsius)\u2014six times higher than previously thought\u2014underscoring the need to update models to more accurately predict space weather. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center’s GOES 19 satellite<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“This appears to be a universal law,” Russell said in a statement. He added that this effect has already been observed in near-Earth space, in the solar wind, and in modeling, but until now, “no one has previously linked research in these areas to solar flares.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Since the 1970s, astronomers have been puzzled by a strange property of solar flare light. When separated into colors using powerful telescopes, the characteristic “spectral lines” of various elements appear much broader or blurrier than theory predicts.<\/span><\/p>\n

For decades, scientists attributed this to turbulence, which is known to occur in solar plasma. Like the chaotic churning of boiling water, the rapid, random motions of charged particles in the plasma could theoretically shift light in different directions as they travel. But the evidence was never entirely consistent, the new study notes. Sometimes the broadening appeared before turbulence could form, and in many cases, the shape of the lines was too symmetrical to correspond to turbulent flows, the paper states.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their new study, Russell and his team propose a simpler explanation: solar particles affected by flares are simply much hotter than previously thought.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using experiments and modeling of magnetic reconnection\u2014the breaking and realignment of magnetic field lines that power flares\u2014the researchers found that while electrons can reach temperatures of 10 to 15 million degrees Celsius (18 to 27 million degrees Celsius), ions can exceed 60 million degrees Celsius (108 million degrees Fahrenheit). Because it takes several minutes for electrons and ions (atoms or molecules with an electrical charge) to exchange heat, this temperature difference lasts long enough to influence the behavior of flares, the study found.<\/span><\/p>\n

At such extreme temperatures, ions move at incredible speeds, so their motion naturally broadens spectral lines, \u201cpotentially solving an astrophysics mystery that has remained unsolved for nearly half a century,\u201d Russell said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The findings are more than just academic research; they also have implications for space weather forecasting. If scientists underestimated the energy stored in flare ions, space weather forecasts may need to be revised. Improved models could provide satellite operators, airlines, and space agencies with more accurate information and additional time to prepare for hazardous solar events, the scientists say.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study also calls for a new generation of solar models that consider ions and electrons separately, rather than assuming a single, uniform temperature. This “multi-temperature” approach is already common in other plasma environments, such as Earth’s magnetic field, but has rarely been applied to the Sun, the study notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russian scientists plan to use the Solntse-Terahertz experiment to study solar radiation in the terahertz range for the first time in the world and, possibly, understand in which layer of the star’s atmosphere flares originate, RIA Novosti was told by the S.N. Vernov Laboratory of Solar and Cosmic Ray Physics at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN).<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The frequencies at which the equipment will operate allow it to penetrate the solar atmosphere to a considerable depth\u2014approximately 300\u20131,000 kilometers from the surface of the photosphere\u2014and observe the potential origins of a flare there. Furthermore, long-wavelength telescopes observe the solar corona and can observe processes occurring in the star’s chromosphere. Instruments capable of detecting radiation closer to the photosphere (the deepest layer of the solar atmosphere) monitor particles that have already accelerated and generate secondary radiation during flares.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nYoutube BBC News \u2014 \u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0441\u043b\u0443\u0436\u0431\u0430<\/em><\/p>\n

If research shows that terahertz radiation arose before, say, X-ray radiation, then it can be determined that the initial energy release occurred in the lower chromosphere. This means the experiment will help us understand in which layer of the Sun the flare originates.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are currently seven models for describing the nature of solar radiation. The data obtained during the Sun-Terahertz experiment will help determine which of them is closest to the truth. Moreover, this will make it possible to predict flares to some extent by understanding the time elapsed between the appearance of terahertz radiation and the generation of various electromagnetic waves and the appearance of accelerated flare particles.<\/span><\/p>\n

The experiment’s equipment is expected to be delivered to the International Space Station by one of the Progress MS cargo ships, after which the cosmonauts will install it on a platform outside the Russian segment of the station.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/i> Comment on Facebook* The owner of the Meta company is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned.<\/span><\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The end of 2025 was marked by the appearance of a solar spot directly facing Earth, similar in parameters to the standard for assessing modern cosmic threats\u2014the “Carrington event.” And in early November 2025, a series of powerful X-class solar flares triggered coronal mass ejections, resulting in extensive aurora borealis displays observed as far south as Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[546,543,40],"tags":[971,970,677,788],"class_list":{"0":"post-2108","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-earthsorbit","8":"category-solar-system","9":"category-kosmos","10":"tag-ions","11":"tag-solar-flares","12":"tag-sun","13":"tag-sunspots"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2213,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108\/revisions\/2213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}