In recent years, scientists have noticed that Earth's magnetic field is weakening... It has been weakening over the past 2000 years, but over the past 500 years, this process has been going on at an unheard of pace.

The solar field, on the other hand, has intensified dramatically over the past 100 years. Since 1901, the solar field has increased by 230%. So far, scientists do not quite understand what consequences this will entail for earthlings.

Strengthening the Solar Field:

According to Nas, the next one, 24th Solar Cycle has already begun. In early 2008, a solar flare was recorded, indicating this. This cycle is expected to reach its peak by 2012.

What is it, these dark spots in the sun? Let's try to figure it out.

When something dark spots in the sun were considered a mystical phenomenon. This was considered until the connection was established between the spots in the sun and the amount of heat generated by the sun. The gas seething in the sun creates a powerful magnetic field, which bursts in some places, creating something like a hole or a dark spot, thereby releasing some of its energy into outer space.

Dark spots are born inside the luminary. Have Suns, like the Earth, there is an equator. At the solar equator, the rotation rate of energy is greater than at the solar poles. Thus, there is a constant mixing and agitation of solar energy and dark spots appear at the places of its release, on the surface of the Sun. The heat from the corona spreads out into space.

Day after day, the sun seems to us the same. However, it is not. The sun constantly changing. last, on average, 11 years. " Solar minimum"Is a cycle with almost no stains. Lows have a calming effect on the Earth, and are associated with periods of cooling on the Earth. " Solar highs"Is a cycle during which many spots are formed and coronary emissions.

When the sun is very active, many dark spots are formed and the energy emissions of the Sun cause disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field, in connection with which the concept of “ solar storm", And within the framework of a long-term process, combine the concept of" space weather ".

Solar storm

During the period solar maximum coronary activity is observed even at the poles Suns... A solar flare is equivalent to billions of megatons of dynamite. The concentrated emissions release a huge amount of energy that reaches the Earth in about 15 minutes. Solar emissions affect not only the Earth's magnetic field, but also on astronauts, on orbiting satellites, on Earth power plants, on the well-being of people, and sometimes cause an increase in the radiation level. In 1959, one observer saw the flash with the naked eye. If a similar outbreak occurs today, about 130 million people will be left without electricity for at least a month. It is increasingly important to understand and predict sunny weather. To do this, satellites have been launched into outer space, with the help of which it is possible to observe spots on the sun even before it turns to the Earth with its shock side. Solar energy gives life to everything that exists on Earth. The sun protects us from cosmic influences. But protecting us, sometimes, it can do harm. Life in the Earth exists as a result of a very delicate balance.

Periodically, the Sun is covered with dark spots around its entire perimeter. They were first discovered with the naked eye by ancient Chinese astronomers, while the official discovery of the spots took place at the beginning of the 17th century, during the appearance of the first telescopes. They were discovered by Christoph Scheiner and Galileo Galilei.

Galileo, despite the fact that Scheiner had discovered the spots earlier, was the first to publish the data on his discovery. On the basis of these spots, he was able to calculate the period of rotation of the star. He discovered that the Sun rotates in the same way as a solid body, and the speed of rotation of its substance is different depending on the latitude.

To date, it has been possible to determine that the spots are areas of a colder substance, which are formed as a result of exposure to high magnetic activity, which interferes with the uniform current of the incandescent plasma. However, the spots are still not fully understood.

For example, astronomers cannot say for sure what is causing the brighter border that surrounds the darker part of the sunspot. In length they can be up to two thousand kilometers, in width up to one hundred and fifty. The study of the spots is hampered by their relatively small size. However, it is believed that the strands are ascending and descending flows of gas formed as a result of the fact that hot matter from the interior of the Sun rises to the surface, where it cools down and falls back down. Scientists have determined that the downdrafts move at a speed of 3.6 thousand km / h, while the updrafts move at a speed of about 10.8 thousand km / h.

Solved the mystery of dark spots on the Sun

Scientists have figured out the nature of the bright cords that frame dark spots on the Sun. Dark spots on the Sun are areas of colder matter. They appear due to the fact that the very high magnetic activity of the Sun can impede the uniform flow of hot plasma. However, to date, many details of the structure of the spots remain unclear.

In particular, scientists do not have an unambiguous explanation of the nature of the brighter cords surrounding the dark part of the spot. The length of such strands can reach two thousand kilometers, and the width - 150 kilometers. Due to the relatively small size of the spots, it is rather difficult to study. Many astronomers believed that the rods represent upward and downward streams of gas - hot matter rises from the depths of the Sun to the surface, where it spreads, cools down and falls down with tremendous speed.

The authors of the new work observed the star using a Swedish solar telescope with a main mirror one meter in diameter. Scientists have discovered dark downdrafts of gas moving at a speed of about 3.6 thousand kilometers per hour, as well as bright updrafts, the speed of which was about 10.8 thousand kilometers per hour.

Recently, another team of scientists managed to achieve a very significant result in the study of the Sun - NASA's STEREO-A and STEREO-B spacecraft are located around the star so that now specialists can observe a three-dimensional image of the Sun.

Science and technology news

American amateur astronomer Howard Eskildsen recently took photographs of a dark spot on the Sun and found that the spot seemed to cut through a bright bridge of light.

Eskildsen observed solar activity from his home observatory in Ocala, Florida. In the photographs of dark spot # 1236, he noticed an interesting phenomenon. A bright canyon, also called the bridge of light, has split this dark spot roughly in half. The researcher estimated that the length of this canyon is about 20 thousand km, which is almost twice the diameter of the Earth.

I used a violet Ca-K filter that highlights bright magnetic manifestations around a sunspot group. It was also perfectly visible how the light bridge cut the sunspot in two, explains the Eskildsen phenomenon.

The nature of light bridges has not yet been fully understood. Their occurrence very often portends the decay of sunspots. Some researchers have noted that light bridges result from the intersection of magnetic fields. These processes are similar to those that cause bright flares on the Sun.

It is hoped that in the near future a bright flash will appear at this place, or spot # 1236 may finally split in half.

Dark sunspots are relatively cold areas of the Sun that occur in places where powerful magnetic fields emerge on the surface of a star, scientists believe.

NASA captures record large sunspots

The American space agency has recorded large spots on the surface of the sun. Photos of sunspots and their description can be viewed on the NASA website.

Observations were carried out on February 19 and 20. The spots discovered by NASA specialists were characterized by a high growth rate. One of them in 48 hours grew to a size six times the diameter of the Earth.

Sunspots are formed as a result of increased magnetic field activity. Due to the enhancement of the field in these regions, the activity of charged particles is suppressed, as a result of which the temperature on the surface of the spots turns out to be significantly lower than in other regions. This explains the local darkening observed from Earth.

Sunspots are unstable formations. In the case of interaction with similar structures of a different polarity, they collapse, which leads to the ejection of plasma flows into the surrounding space.

When such a stream reaches the Earth, most of it is neutralized by the planet's magnetic field, and the remnants flow to the poles, where they can be observed in the form of auroras. High power solar flares can disrupt satellites, electrical appliances and power grids on Earth.

Dark spots disappeared on the Sun

Scientists are concerned that not a single dark spot is visible on the surface of the Sun, which were observed several days ago. This is despite the fact that the star is in the middle of an 11-year solar cycle.

Usually, dark spots appear in areas where there is increased magnetic activity. These can be solar flares or coronal mass ejections that release energy. It is not known what caused such a lull during the period of intensification of magnetic activity.

According to some experts, days with no sunspots were to be expected and this is just a temporary intermission. For example, on August 14, 2011, not a single dark spot was noticed on the star, however, in general, the year was accompanied by rather serious solar activity.

All this emphasizes that scientists, in essence, do not know what is happening on the Sun, do not know how to predict its activity, - said solar physicist Tony Phillips.

The same opinion is shared by Alex Young of the Goddard Space Flight Center. We have been observing the sun in detail for only 50 years. It's not that long, given that it has been orbiting for 4.5 billion years, Young notes.

Sunspots are the main indicator of solar magnetic activity. In dark areas, temperatures are lower than in the surrounding areas of the photosphere.

Sources: tainy.net, lenta.ru, www.epochtimes.com.ua, respect-youself.livejournal.com, mir24.tv

Lion club

Tunnels of ancient civilizations

Searching for the Lost Atlantis

Fox sisters

Hitchhiking in Russia

Commoners and people who are not related to travel often believe that hitchhiking as a way of transportation is unreliable, suspicious and ...

Syria

Syria is a country that is often called a "time machine", as it contains a huge number of unique and ancient architectural monuments, ...

Lost ship "Cyclops"

When it comes to the Bermuda Triangle, one detail is telling. In this area, not only civilian ships, but also military ships disappear, moreover ...

Cases of spontaneous combustion of people

There is a phenomenon that has not been solved until now, when suddenly a person catches fire in the truest sense of the word. It is embraced by the emanating from ...

Airplane An-124 Ruslan

I purchased a model of a unique transport aircraft An-124-100 Ruslan produced by the new firm ModelSvit in mid-June in the hero-city of Kiev for 350 Baku ...

5th generation Russian spacesuit

One of the distinguishing features of the MAKS-2013 Aviation and Space Salon was the Russian Orlan-ISS 5th generation spacesuit on display. The development belongs to the Research and Production Enterprise "Zvezda", ...

No living creature can grow without sunlight. Everything will wither, especially the plants. Even natural resources - coal, natural gas, oil - are a form of solar energy that has been stored away. This is evidenced by the carbon contained in them, accumulated by plants. According to scientists, any changes in the production of energy from the Sun will inevitably lead to a change in the Earth's climate. What do we know about these changes? What are sunspots, flares and what are the consequences of their appearance for us?

Source of Life

A star named the Sun is our source of heat and energy. Thanks to this luminary, life is maintained on Earth. We know more about the Sun than about any other star. This is understandable, because we are part of the solar system and are located only 150 million km from it.

For scientists, sunspots are of great interest, which arise, develop and disappear, and new ones appear instead of those that have disappeared. Sometimes giant spots can form. For example, in April 1947, it was possible to observe a complex spot on the Sun with an area 350 times larger than the earth's surface! It could be observed with the naked eye.

Study of processes on the central luminary

There are large observatories that have special telescopes at their disposal for studying the Sun. Thanks to such equipment, astronomers can find out what processes occur on the Sun and how they affect life on Earth. In addition, through the study of solar processes, scientists can learn more about other stellar objects.

The energy of the Sun in the surface layer bursts out in the form of light. Astronomers record a significant difference in solar activity, as evidenced by sunspots appearing on the light. They represent less light and colder regions of the solar disk in comparison with the overall brightness of the photosphere.

Solar formations

Large spots are rather complicated. They are characterized by partial shade that surrounds the dark area of ​​the shadow and has a diameter more than twice the size of the shadow itself. If you observe sunspots at the edge of the disk of our star, you get the impression that this is a deep dish. It looks like this because the gas in the spots is more transparent than in the surrounding atmosphere. Therefore, our gaze penetrates deeper. Shadow temperature 3 (4) x 10 3 K.

Astronomers have found that the base of a typical sunspot is 1500 km below the surface surrounding it. This discovery was made by scientists from the University of Glasgow in 2009. The astronomical group was headed by F. Watson.

Temperature of solar formations

It is interesting that the largest sunspots are both small, with a diameter of 1000 to 2000 km, and gigantic. The sizes of the latter are much larger than those of the world.

The spot itself is the place where the strongest magnetic fields enter the photosphere. By reducing the energy flow, magnetic fields emanate from the very depths of the sun. Therefore, on the surface, in places where there are spots on the sun, the temperature is about 1500 K less than in the surrounding surface. Accordingly, these processes make these places less bright.

Dark formations on the Sun form groups of large and small spots that can occupy an impressive area on the luminary's disk. However, the picture of the formations is unstable. It is constantly changing, since the spots on the Sun are also unstable. They, as mentioned above, arise, change in size and disintegrate. However, the lifetime of groups of dark formations is rather long. It can last for 2-3 solar revolutions. The solar rotation period itself lasts approximately 27 days.

Discoveries

When the sun descends below the horizon, the largest spots can be seen. This is how astronomers of China studied the solar surface 2,000 years ago. In ancient times, it was believed that spots are a consequence of processes taking place on Earth. In the 17th century, this opinion was refuted by Galileo Galilei. Thanks to the use of a telescope, he managed to make many important discoveries:

• about the appearance and disappearance of spots;
• about changes in size and dark formations;
• the shape of black spots on the Sun changes when they approach the boundary of the visible disk;
• Studying the movement of dark spots on the solar disk, Galileo proved the rotation of the Sun.

Among all the small spots, two large ones are usually distinguished, which form a bipolar group.

On September 1, 1859, two English astronomers independently observed the Sun in white light. They were R. Carrington and S. Hodgson. They saw something like lightning. It flashed unexpectedly among one group of sunspots. Later, this phenomenon was called a solar flare.

Explosions

What are the characteristics of solar flares and how do they arise? In short: this is a very powerful explosion on the main luminary. Thanks to him, a huge amount of energy is quickly released, which has accumulated in the solar atmosphere. As you know, the volume of this atmosphere is limited. Flares most often occur in areas considered neutral. They are located between large bipolar spots.

As a rule, solar flares begin to develop with a sharp and unexpected increase in brightness at the flare area. This is an area of ​​the brighter and hotter photosphere. After that, an explosion of catastrophic proportions occurs. During the explosion, the plasma heats up from 40 to 100 million K. These manifestations can be observed in the multiple intensification of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation of short waves of the Sun. In addition, our luminary makes a powerful sound and ejects accelerated corpuscles.

What processes are going on and what happens to the Sun during flares?

Sometimes there are such powerful flares that generate solar cosmic rays. Cosmic ray protons reach half the speed of light. These particles are carriers of deadly energy. They can freely penetrate the hull of the spacecraft and destroy living organisms at the cellular level. Therefore, solar spacecraft pose a high danger to the crew, which was overtaken by a sudden flare during the flight.

Thus, the Sun emits radiation in the form of particles and electromagnetic waves. The total radiation flux (visible) remains constant at all times. Moreover, with an accuracy of fractions of a percent. Weak flashes can always be observed. Large ones happen every few months. During the years of maximum solar activity, large flares are observed several times a month.

By studying what happens to the Sun during flares, astronomers were able to measure the duration of these processes. A small flash lasts 5 to 10 minutes. The most powerful - up to several hours. During the flare, plasma with a mass of up to 10 billion tons is thrown into space around the Sun. In this case, energy is released, which has the equivalent of tens to hundreds of millions of hydrogen bombs! But the power of even the largest flares will not be more than hundredths of a percent of the power of total solar radiation. That is why there is no noticeable increase in the luminosity of the Sun during a flare.

Solar conversions

5800 K is approximately the same temperature on the surface of the sun, and in the center it reaches 16 million K. Bubbles (granularity) are observed on the solar surface. They can only be viewed with a solar telescope. Through the process of convection in the solar atmosphere, thermal energy from the lower layers is transferred into the photosphere and gives it a foamy structure.

Not only the temperature on the surface of the Sun and in its very center is different, but also the density with pressure. All indicators increase with depth. Since the temperature in the core is very high, a reaction takes place there: hydrogen is converted into helium and a huge amount of heat is released. Thus, the Sun is kept from compressing by its own gravity.

It is interesting that our star is a single typical star. The mass and size of the star Sun in diameter, respectively: 99.9% of the mass of objects in the solar system and 1.4 million km. The Sun has 5 billion years to live like a star. It will gradually heat up and increase in size. In theory, the moment will come when all the hydrogen in the central core will be used up. The sun will be 3 times its current size. As a result, it will cool down and turn into a white dwarf.

As, for example, in the middle of the last millennium. Every inhabitant of our planet is aware that there are small darkenings on the main source of heat and light, which are difficult to see without special devices. But not everyone knows the fact that it is they that lead to which can strongly affect the Earth's magnetic field.

Definition

In simple terms, sunspots are dark patches that form on the surface of the Sun. It is a mistake to believe that they do not emit bright light, however, compared to the rest of the photosphere, they are indeed much darker. Their main characteristic is lower temperatures. Thus, sunspots on the Sun are colder by about 1500 Kelvin than other areas surrounding them. In fact, they represent the very areas through which magnetic fields reach the surface. Thanks to this phenomenon, we can talk about such a process as magnetic activity. Accordingly, if there are few spots, then this is called a quiet period, and when there are many of them, then such a period will be called active. During the latter, the glow of the Sun is slightly brighter due to torches and floccules located around the dark areas.

The study

The observation of sunspots has been going on for a long time, it goes back to the era of BC. So, Theophrastus Aquinas back in the IV century BC. NS. in his works he mentioned their existence. The first sketch of darkening on the surface of the main star was discovered in 1128, it belongs to John Worcester. In addition, in the ancient Russian works of the XIV century, black sun blotches are mentioned. Science began to study them rapidly in the 1600s. Most scientists of that period adhered to the version that sunspots are planets moving around the axis of the Sun. But after Galileo's invention of the telescope, this myth was dispelled. He was the first to find out that the spots are integral to the solar structure itself. This event spawned a powerful wave of research and observation that has not stopped since then. Modern research is striking in its scale. For 400 years, progress in this area has become tangible, and now the Belgian Royal Observatory is counting the number of sunspots, but the disclosure of all facets of this cosmic phenomenon is still ongoing.

The emergence

Even at school, children are taught about the existence of a magnetic field, but usually only the poloidal component is mentioned. But the theory of sunspots also involves the study of a toroidal element, of course, we are already talking about the magnetic field of the Sun. It is impossible to calculate it near the Earth, since it does not appear on the surface. A different situation is with the celestial body. Under a combination of certain conditions, the magnetic tube floats out through the photosphere. As you may have guessed, this ejection leads to the formation of sunspots on the surface. Most often this happens en masse, which is why the most common group accumulations of spots.

Properties

On average, it reaches 6000 K, while for spots it is about 4000 K. However, this does not prevent them from still producing a powerful amount of light. Sunspots and active areas, that is, sunspot groups, have different periods of existence. The first ones live from a couple of days to several weeks. But the latter are much more tenacious and can remain in the photosphere for months. As for the structure of each individual spot, it seems to be complicated. Its central part is called a shadow, which outwardly looks monotonous. In turn, it is surrounded by penumbra, which is distinguished by its variability. As a result of contact of cold plasma and magnetic on it, oscillations of the substance are noticeable. The sizes of sunspots, as well as their number in groups, can be very diverse.

Cycles of solar activity

Everyone knows that the level is constantly changing. This situation gave rise to the concept of an 11-year cycle. Sunspots, their appearance and number are very closely related to this phenomenon. However, this question remains controversial, as one cycle can vary from 9 to 14 years, and the level of activity changes relentlessly from century to century. Thus, there may be periods of a certain calm, when the spots are practically absent for more than one year. But the opposite can also happen, when their number is considered abnormal. Previously, the countdown of the beginning of the cycle began from the moment of minimum solar activity. But with the advent of improved technologies, the calculation is carried out from the moment when the polarity of the spots changes. Data on past solar activities are available for study, but they can hardly become the most reliable assistant in predicting the future, because the nature of the Sun is very unpredictable.

Impact on the planet

It is no secret that the Sun interact closely with our daily life. The earth is constantly being attacked by various external stimuli. The planet is protected from their destructive effects by the magnetosphere and atmosphere. But, unfortunately, they are not able to resist him completely. Thus, satellites can be disabled, radio communications are disrupted, and astronauts are subject to increased danger. In addition, radiation affects climate change and even a person's appearance. There is such a phenomenon as sun spots on the body, which appear under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.

This issue has not yet been properly studied, as well as the effect of sunspots on the daily life of people. Another phenomenon that depends on magnetic disturbances is magnetic storms, which have become one of the most famous consequences of solar activity. They represent another external field around the Earth, which is parallel to the constant one. Modern scientists even associate increased mortality, as well as exacerbation of diseases of the cardiovascular system with the appearance of this very magnetic field. And among the people, this even gradually began to turn into superstition.

Sergey Bogachev

How sun spots are arranged

One of the largest active regions this year has appeared on the disk of the Sun, which means that there are spots on the Sun again - despite the fact that our star is entering a period. Sergei Bogachev, an employee of the Laboratory of X-ray Astronomy of the Sun of FIAN, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, talks about the nature and history of the detection of sunspots, as well as their effect on the earth's atmosphere.

In the first decade of the 17th century, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei and the German astronomer and mechanic Christoph Scheiner, approximately simultaneously and independently of each other, improved the spyglass (or telescope) invented several years earlier and created on its basis a helioscope - a device that allows you to observe the Sun by projecting his image on the wall. In these images, they discovered details that could be mistaken for wall defects if they did not move with the image - small spots dotting the surface of the ideal (and partly divine) central celestial body - the Sun. This is how sunspots entered the history of science, and the saying that there is nothing perfect in the world is in our life: "And there are sunspots on the Sun."

Sunspots are the main feature that can be seen on the surface of our star without the use of sophisticated astronomical techniques. The visible dimensions of the spots are on the order of one minute of arc (the size of a 10-kopeck coin from a distance of 30 meters), which is at the limit of the resolution of the human eye. However, a very simple optical device, magnifying only a few times, is enough for these objects to be detected, which, in fact, happened in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. Individual observations of spots, however, regularly occurred before that, and often they were made simply with the eye, but remained unnoticed or misunderstood.

For some time they tried to explain the nature of the spots without affecting the ideality of the Sun, for example, like clouds in the solar atmosphere, but it quickly became clear that they relate mediocrely to the solar surface. Their nature, however, remained a mystery until the first half of the 20th century, when magnetic fields were first discovered on the Sun and it turned out that the places of their concentration coincide with the places of formation of spots.

Why do the spots look dark? First of all, it should be noted that their darkness is not absolute. Rather, it is similar to the dark silhouette of a person standing against the background of an illuminated window, that is, it is only apparent against the background of a very bright ambient light. If you measure the "brightness" of a spot, you can find that it also emits light, but only at a level of 20-40 percent of the normal light of the Sun. This fact is enough to determine the spot temperature without any additional measurements, since the thermal radiation flux from the Sun is uniquely related to its temperature through the Stefan-Boltzmann law (the radiation flux is proportional to the temperature of the radiating body to the fourth power). If we put the brightness of an ordinary surface of the Sun with a temperature of about 6000 degrees Celsius as a unit, then the temperature of sunspots should be about 4000-4500 degrees. As a matter of fact, this is the way it is - sunspots (and this was later confirmed by other methods, for example, spectroscopic studies of radiation), are simply portions of the Sun's surface of a lower temperature.

The connection of spots with magnetic fields is explained by the influence of the magnetic field on the gas temperature. This influence is associated with the presence of a convective (boiling) zone in the Sun, which extends from the surface to a depth of about a third of the solar radius. The boiling of solar plasma continuously raises hot plasma from its interior to the surface and thereby increases the surface temperature. In areas where the surface of the Sun is pierced by tubes of a strong magnetic field, the efficiency of convection is suppressed until it stops completely. As a result, without being fed by hot convective plasma, the surface of the Sun cools down to temperatures of the order of 4000 degrees. A stain is forming.

Today spots are studied mainly as centers of active solar regions, in which solar flares are concentrated. The fact is that the magnetic field, the "source" of which are spots, brings additional reserves of energy into the Sun's atmosphere, which are "unnecessary" for the Sun, and it, like any physical system that seeks to minimize its energy, tries to get rid of them. This additional energy is called free energy. There are two main mechanisms for dumping excess energy.

The first is when the Sun simply throws out into interplanetary space the part of the atmosphere that burdens it, along with excess magnetic fields, plasma and currents. These phenomena are called coronal mass ejections. The corresponding emissions, spreading from the Sun, sometimes reach colossal dimensions of several million kilometers and are, in particular, the main cause of magnetic storms - the impact of such a plasma clot on the Earth's magnetic field unbalances it, makes it vibrate, and also increases the electric currents flowing in the Earth's magnetosphere, which is the essence of the magnetic storm.

The second way is solar flares. In this case, free energy is burned directly in the solar atmosphere, but the consequences of this can also reach the Earth - in the form of streams of hard radiation and charged particles. Such an impact, which is radiation in nature, is one of the main reasons for the failure of spacecraft, as well as auroras.

However, having found a spot on the Sun, it is not worthwhile to immediately prepare for solar flares and magnetic storms. A fairly frequent situation is when the appearance of sunspots on the Sun's disk, even record-breaking large ones, does not lead to even a minimal increase in the level of solar activity. Why it happens? This is due to the nature of the release of magnetic energy on the Sun. Such energy cannot be released from one magnetic flux, just as a magnet lying on a table, no matter how shaken it may be, will not create any solar flare. There should be at least two such streams, and they should be able to interact with each other.

Since one magnetic tube, piercing the surface of the Sun in two places, creates two spots, then all groups of spots in which there are only two or one spots are not capable of creating flares. These groups are formed by one thread, which has nothing to interact with. Such a pair of spots can be gigantic and exist on the disk of the Sun for months, frightening the Earth with its size, but will not create a single, even minimal, flare. Such groups have a classification and are called type Alpha, if there is one spot, or Beta, if there are two.

A complex sunspot of the Beta-Gamma-Delta type. Above - a spot in the visible range, below - magnetic fields shown by the HMI instrument on board the SDO space observatory

If you find a message about the appearance of a new spot on the Sun, do not be lazy and look at the type of group. If this is Alpha or Beta, then you can not worry - the Sun will not produce any flares or magnetic storms in the coming days. A more complex class is Gamma. These are groups of sunspots in which there are several sunspots of north and south polarity. In such a region, there are at least two interacting magnetic fluxes. Accordingly, such an area will lose magnetic energy and fuel solar activity. And finally, the last class is Beta Gamma. These are the most difficult areas, with an extremely confusing magnetic field. If such a group appears in the catalog, there is no doubt that the Sun will unravel this system for at least several days, burning energy in the form of flares, including large ones, and ejecting plasma until it simplifies this system to a simple Alpha or Beta configuration.

However, despite the "frightening" connection of spots with flares and magnetic storms, one should not forget that this is one of the most remarkable astronomical phenomena that can be observed from the surface of the Earth in amateur instruments. Finally, sunspots are a very beautiful object - just look at their high-resolution images. For those who, even after that, are not able to forget about the negative aspects of this phenomenon, you can console yourself with the fact that the number of spots on the Sun is still relatively small (no more than 1 percent of the disk surface, and often much less).

A number of types of stars, at least red dwarfs, "suffer" to a much greater extent - spots in them can cover up to tens of percent of the area. You can imagine what the hypothetical inhabitants of the corresponding planetary systems have, and once again rejoice at what relatively calm star we were lucky enough to live next to.