Sunspot launches 27 solar flares in 24 hours, including strongest outburst in years
A monstrous sunspot is targeting Earth after triggering dozens of powerful flares on Sunday and Monday (February 1-2), including the most intense solar flare in years.
High geomagnetic activity — potentially leading to vibrant northern lights at lower latitudes than usual – it is possible on Thursday (February 5), according to an alert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). However, it is still too early to be sure.
This barrage of activity peaked around 6:57 p.m. EST Sunday, when the sunspot triggered a strong X8.1 solar flare, according to the SWPC. This is the strongest solar flare since October 2024, when the sun launched a Blast X9.0.
The recent X-class eruption immediately triggered partial radio blackouts in the South Pacific, according to Spaceweather.comand fired a slower burst of plasma called a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth. The SWPC predicts that this CME will narrowly miss Earth when it passes on February 5, but a peek might be possible.
If the CME intersects our planet, charged solar particles will rush toward Earth’s magnetic poles, producing bright auroras.
The sun “wakes up”
Sunspots are vast dark regions of magnetic instability which form in the lower atmosphere of the Sun. When magnetic field lines near these regions become too entangled, they can violently snap back into alignment, triggering solar flares and CMEs.
Sunspot activity peaks every 11 years, when the sun’s magnetic poles reverse during a period called solar maximum. The frequency and intensity of solar flares and CMEs also peak during this period of turbulence.
In 2024, NASA confirmed that the solar maximum was on trackwith severe space weather likely to remain elevated through 2026. This could lead to extremely rare and widespread auroral displays, like those seen in May 2024, when a monster CME pushed the northern lights as far south as Florida. The sunspot responsible for this storm remained on the sun for more than three months, triggering nearly 1,000 solar flares during his life, a a recent study revealed.
Intense solar radiation storms can also have adverse consequences, such as radio blackouts, GPS disruptionsAnd damage to satellites and spacecraft.
The strongest solar flare of 2025 was a X5.1 Class Eruption recorded in November. Sunspot 4366 has already beaten it, but it remains to be seen whether it will manage to beat its own record.
