Sun's Surprise: NASA's SDO Reveals Hidden Solar Storm Threat - Earth on Alert

The Earth-facing side of the sun has been relatively quiet in recent days, according to spaceweather.com and NOAA forecasts on January 11th, 2024. However, increased activity may be just around the corner. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite observed a large plume of plasma erupting from behind the sun's eastern limb on January 10th. This indicates the possibility of an active sunspot region developing out of direct view. As the sun rotates, this area may swing into view later this week.

"The blast site is hidden from view. It could be linked to an active farside sunspot group," spaceweather.com reported. "If so, the sun's rotation will turn it to face Earth later this week," the report added.

The potential impacts of this farside development are still unknown. NOAA forecasts indicate a quiet geomagnetic field on Earth in the near term.

While the visible solar disc has been calm and lacking sunspots recently, increased activity lurking over the horizon could mean a short-lived quiet period. As we move deeper into the new solar cycle, the sun is expected to continue waking up from its years-long minimum.

The coming days and weeks will reveal whether this latest behind-the-scenes solar action will translate to Earth-directed flares, elevated radiation levels, or geomagnetic storms. For now, space weather remains relatively serene.

What Is Solar Dynamics Observatory?

NASA says, "The 11-year solar cycle is largely unpredictable. It’s not even 11 years long! No one knows when the next big solar storm will come." To detect the danger in advance, NASA and NOAA use a wide range of tech. One of these is the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), launched in 2010, it is a spacecraft operated by NASA. Its primary purpose is to investigate solar variability and its impact on Earth.

Constantly observing the Sun, the SDO keeps a close watch on phenomena such as sunspots, solar flares, and other space weather events. Equipped with high-speed cameras, the SDO captures rapid sequences of images depicting solar flares and magnetic activity. A sensor on SDO called the “Helioseismic Magnetic Imager” (HMI) can see through the Sun’s surface to study what lies beneath.