TapTechNews May 11: The Milky Way's biggest story this week is undoubtedly Sunspot AR3664, which caused the most powerful solar flare to date, peaking at an X3.98 at 14:54 Beijing time. This flare resulted in the temporary or complete loss of high-frequency (HF) radio signals across Asia, Eastern Europe, and East Africa.
Sunspot AR3664 has been expanding over the past few days and now spans over 200,000 kilometers, which is more than fifteen times the diameter of Earth. Astronomers, using data collected by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, have been tracking the changes in AR3664.
TapTechNews Note: AR3664 is not only immense but also highly active: it continuously emits powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), affecting Earth's radio communications and intensifying the auroras visible on Earth.
According to data from the NOAA National Weather Service, AR3664 boasts a magnetic field that is approximately 2,500 times stronger than Earth's.