Sun Breaks Out With Record Number of Sunspots, Sparking Solar Storm Concerns

upstart writes:

The sun hasn't produced this many sunspots in a single month since 2002:

The sun produced over 160 sunspots in June, the highest monthly number in more than two decades.

The data confirm that the current solar cycle, the 25th since records began, is picking up intensity at a much quicker pace than NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasted, sparking concerns of severe space weather events in the months and years to come.

While the space agencies predicted a maximum monthly number of sunspots during the 25th solar cycle's maximum to reach a modest 125, the star is now on a trajectory to peak at just under 200 monthly sunspots, and some scientists think this peak may arrive in just one year.

[...] And contrary to the original NASA and NOAA forecast, this maximum might get rather fiery. More sunspots means not only more solar flares but also more coronal mass ejections, powerful eruptions of charged particles that make up solar wind. And that can mean bad space weather on Earth. Intense bursts of solar wind can penetrate Earth's magnetic field and supercharge particle's in Earth's atmosphere, which triggers mesmerizing aurora displays but also causes serious problems to power grids and satellites in Earth's orbit.

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