Astronomers warn of solar storms and other extreme space weather in the coming days and weeks as the positive parts of the sun rotate.
The activity is expected to result in Auroras and potential power outages on Earth, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recently captured the most powerful eruption of 2025 from the newly emerging sunspot area.
The event was classified as the X2.7 flare – the highest category of solar flares – triggered a radio outage in parts of the Middle East.
According to space weather forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), high-frequency radio signals were destroyed for about 10 minutes.
NASA notes that the continued torch and solar outbreaks in the region may continue to affect “radio communications, power grids, navigation signals, and posture risks to spacecraft and astronauts.”
Artist illustration of the Solar Storm (NASA)
The Sun is currently at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, known as its maximum solar cycle. This is due to the star's magnetic pole flip, which causes it to transition to active and stormy states.
The destruction of solar flares may also be accompanied by aurora of coronal mass popping (CMES), which is when the sun's charged particles pass through the Earth's atmosphere and create a color display called the Northern Lights or Southern Lights.
Currently, the most active area in the sun is spinning to face the Earth, predicting greater space weather.
Aurora forecast for Metropolitan Office May 22, 2025, showing the Northern Lights of the UK and Ireland (Met Office)
“There are currently up to five solar points areas on the surface of the sun, a new, apparently magnetic monopole area that rotates on the southeast solar horizon,” the MET office noted in its latest space weather forecast.
Other observers point out that the darkspot AR4087 may cause Auroras to align with the Earth.
“This is getting more intense,” space photographer Vincent Ledvina wrote in a social media post. “Especially as this active area gets closer to the horizon.”
