Sun Produces Highest Number Of Sunspots In June, Raises Solar Storm Concerns

The month of June was one of the most frightening months for the solar system. The Sun broke its two-decade record and produced over 160 spots last month. The findings show that the current solar cycle, the 25th since records began, is intensifying considerably more quickly than the American space agency NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had originally projected, as per Space.com.

The Sun is currently on a course to peak at just under 200 monthly sunspots and some scientists believe this peak may occur in one year. This is in contrast to the prediction by space agencies that the highest monthly number of sunspots during the 25th solar cycle's maximum would reach 125. 

Solar Physicist Keith Strong took to Twitter and said, "Highest monthly average sunspot number since September 2002. The June 2023([sunspot number) was 163.4, the highest value for over 20 years."

According to Spaceweather.com, on July 2, one of these sunspots, the darker, colder regions of the star's surface that have strong magnetic fields, produced a strong solar flare that briefly cut off radio service in the western United States and over the Pacific Ocean. As the solar cycle nears its peak, such phenomena could start to occur more frequently in some time.

More sunspots also signal more coronal mass ejections, which are strong eruptions of the charged particles that make up solar wind that may result in poor space weather on Earth. Strong bursts of solar wind may pierce the magnetic field of Earth and supercharge particles, causing spectacular aurora displays but also posing major risks to electrical networks and satellites orbiting the planet, as per the outlet. The space weather issues have already harmed many operators, notably SpaceX, who lost a batch of 40 brand-new Starlink satellites after launching them into what they believed to be a minor solar storm in 2022.

"During extreme events, charged solar particles can even damage spacecraft electronics, disrupt GPS signals and knock out power grids on Earth. During the most intense solar storm in history, the Carrington Event of 1859, telegraph clerks reported sparks flying off their machines, setting documents ablaze," Space.com added that the disruption lasted for days.

NASA Solar Physics Research Scientist Robert Leamon told Space.com in an earlier interview that strong solar storms happen mostly in odd years. "Since Cycle 25 is odd, we might expect the most effective events to happen after the maximum, in 2025 and 2026. This is because how the poles of the sun flip every 11 years. You want the pole of the sun in the same orientation compared to the poles of Earth so that then causes the most damage and the best coupling from the solar wind through Earth's magnetic field," he said.