[Regnum] The spots on the side of the Sun facing the Earth have almost disappeared. This was reported by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Scientists noted that there are still spots on the visible side of the Sun, but they have greatly diminished. According to experts, the same thing is now happening on the other side of the star.
"Since the size and number of spots roughly correlate with flare activity, the outlook for the latter is currently bleak," the lab's website said.
According to scientists, if nothing changes, the number of solar flares will fall to almost zero by the beginning of next week. However, strong magnetic storms associated with the approach of the coronal hole, an area in which the flow of solar wind is weakened, are expected from August 19.
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Scientist Chashey urged not to panic over disappearance of sunspots
The disappearance of spots on the side of the Sun facing the Earth is a common phenomenon that will not save the planet from possible magnetic storms. This was stated on Sunday, August 17, by Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Igor Chashey in a conversation with Regnum News Agency.
Earlier, the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported that spots on the side of the Sun facing the Earth had almost completely disappeared. This phenomenon may indicate a decrease in solar flares in the coming days.
"All this is very unstable. Now the maximum of solar activity has passed, when there were many spots. Activity is declining. This is a completely natural thing. They will appear again, but no one knows when. At the same time, there should be no panic here, since everything is within reasonable limits," the expert said.
The fact that there are fewer sunspots does not guarantee that people on Earth will no longer be bothered by magnetic storms for some time, the expert said.
"Spots are simply an indicator that there are some active regions on the Sun. But even when we reach a minimum of solar activity, when spot activity is very low, there are still some disturbances. They are associated with corotating structures, and they can also cause magnetic storms. Because at a minimum of solar activity, there are large coronal holes at the poles, from which fast streams of solar wind emanate. And when a fast stream catches up with a slow one, compaction occurs, and its arrival at the Earth can lead to the emergence of a magnetic storm," Chashey concluded.