[Regnum] Active region 4366 on the Sun, visible from Earth, has broken the 21st-century record for the number of strong solar flares. This was reported on February 8 by the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"The NOAA catalog has just been updated. Active center 4366, currently observed from Earth, has been credited with three M-class flares. This means it now has 66 events," the lab said in a message on its Telegram channel.
The previous record was held by active region 3664, which produced 64 outbursts of M level and higher.
It is noted that there was a pause for three days before the indicator was updated—the group of spots practically stopped producing flares.
Previously, scientists observed the strongest solar activity of the 21st century in May 2024. This resulted in a plasma cloud covering the Earth, triggering a major magnetic storm for the first time in 20 years.
Valery Petrov, PhD in Physics and Mathematics and head of the Earth's Variable Magnetic Field Department at IZMIRAN, told Regnum news agency in December 2025 that 69 magnetic storms had been recorded on Earth since the beginning of the year. He attributed this to the Sun's peak activity in its 11-year cycle. This process is expected to subside within two years, the scientist noted.
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Two strong solar flares occurred
Two strong solar flares occurred. This was reported on February 8 on the website of the Institute of Applied Geophysics (IFG).
The first M1.8 flare was recorded at 2:18 PM Moscow time in X-rays in sunspot group 4366 (N17W47). It lasted eight minutes.
The second was registered at 14:43 Moscow time in the same range in sunspot group 4358. The flare power was M1.7, and the duration was 28 minutes.
In total, eight groups of spots have been registered on the visible disk of the Sun.
The Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for their part, reported that sunspot 4366 still has the potential to grow.
The Solar Astronomy Laboratory reported yesterday that one of the most powerful solar flares since the turn of the century had suddenly ended. Sunspot region 4366 was just one event short of breaking the 21st century record for the number of strong flares, the scientists noted.