The astronomer assessed the danger of the anomalous activity of the Sun

Astronomer, popularizer of astronomy and cosmonautics Alexander Kiselyov told on Tuesday, July 7, what threat a record number of solar flares can pose to the Earth.

The day before, the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the IKI RAS reported that the Sun had updated the two—year record for the number of flares that occurred during one day - on July 5, 24-26 category C flares were recorded, RT reports.

"Even if each individual Category C flare is not extreme, their totality over the course of a day means that the Sun has released a significant amount of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum. The sun goes through approximately 11-year cycles of activity characterized by changes in the number of sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections," he said in a commentary. aif.ru .

He admitted that 2026 is near the peak of the 25th solar cycle, when the activity of the Sun reaches its maximum, and during this period the magnetic fields become more complex and unstable, which leads to an increase in the frequency and intensity of solar flares.

At the same time, the expert noted that a record number of flares would not necessarily lead to catastrophic consequences, but this anomaly greatly increases the likelihood of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — giant clouds of plasma and magnetic fields ejected from the solar atmosphere, and if the CMEs are directed towards Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm.

"High-energy particles released during flares and CMEs can damage satellite electronics, cause malfunctions, shorten their service life, and even lead to their complete loss. This can affect navigation, communications and remote sensing systems," Kiselyov said, adding that strong geomagnetic storms can lead to overloads, damage to transformers and even large—scale power outages.

Into space discoveries: a device for hunting for solar flares will be placed on the ISS

What experiments will be conducted in orbit during the extravehicular activity session

On July 4, ten strong flares of varying power occurred on the Sun. 360.ru . Thus, the second most powerful magnetic storm of the G3.33 level was recorded since the beginning of the year, IA Regnum reports.

Earlier, on July 1, a high-class X flare occurred on the Sun. Its capacity was X1.1, according to the website kp.ru .