A cosmic gun with a width nearly equal to the Earth’s radius is predicted to unleash a solar energy attack in the coming days.
According to Live Science, this is a solar sunspot named AR3085, which was just a small dot a few days ago.
However, in just 2 days, AR3085 has rapidly expanded, reaching a size 10 times larger than when it was first observed, transforming into a “cosmic gun” with a width nearly equal to the Earth’s diameter. Unfortunately, it is aimed directly at us.
A previously recorded cosmic gun – (Photo: NASA/KIS).
The sunspot is where the Sun emits high-energy flares, which may be accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), a form of plasma fireball. These bright bullets, if they collide with the Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere, can cause geomagnetic storms, commonly known as solar storms.
According to SpaceWeather, observational data from NASA indicates that some small energy explosions have occurred in this sunspot, but so far they have only been classified as C-class flares, the weakest type of solar flare monitored by U.S. government satellites.
However, it is certain that NASA and related agencies must pay close attention to this massive sunspot in the coming days, as there is no guarantee it will not emit stronger phenomena.
Flares slightly larger than C-class—M-class—are sufficient to cause radio blackouts at high latitudes when they hit Earth, while X-class super flares can lead to widespread radio outages, potentially damaging navigation systems, the Internet, power grids, and thus endangering devices reliant on these systems, such as satellites.
According to NASA, these cosmic guns form on the Sun’s surface when magnetic field lines in that area become tangled and stressed, suppressing the flow of hot gas from inside the star and creating cooler, darker regions.
At some point, the accumulation of energy creates a “breaking point,” resulting in energy bursts directed at any unfortunate planet within the sunspot’s line of sight.
