Russian cosmonaut returns to airlock at International Space Station

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Scientists have warned that a sunspot, named AR3085 has swelled up to the size of a planet, and could soon launch a barrage of solar storms towards the Earth. Sunspots like this are a result of magnetic disruptions in the photosphere — the lowest layer of the sun’s atmosphere — with these disturbances exposing the cooler layers of the star underneath, thus appearing darker. 

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The AR3085 was only a tiny spot just a few days ago, but since then has ballooned to be ten times bigger, transforming into a pair of sunspots with cores that each measure nearly the diameter of Earth, according to SpaceWeather.com.

They also noted that a number of solar flares, which are powerful ejections of electromagnetic radiation launched from the Sun, were detected “crackling” around the spot. 

Fortunately, all of these were reported to be C-class solar flares, which are classified as weak, with barely noticeably effects on the Earth’s geomagnetic field,

Solar storms can have a number of effects, ranging from increased auroras in lower latitudes to entire satellites being brought down by more powerful blasts.

According to NASA, M class flares are stronger and are usually capable of causing radio blackouts, while X class flares can have devastating impacts, including widespread radio blackouts, knocking out satellites and even take down power grids.

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