After a series of record-breaking flares, the Sun is gradually returning to a state of "depression" - even the appearance of two new groups of spots could not stir it up, the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute of RAS reported.
Three weeks ago, active center 4366 produced six top-level X-class flares. Now only one spot remains from it, and within the next 5-10 days it will be absorbed by the Sun. Another center - 4379-4380 - appeared on the far side of the star, produced almost 20 flares, and completely ran out of steam in a couple of days. The flare chart is once again turning into a straight line.
The geomagnetic situation remains calm. Earth's magnetic field is stable.
It seems that late February - early March 2026 will clearly not go down in the history of solar physics. Although there is still some minimal life on the Sun for now. Activity is not falling all the way to the bottom.
The sharp decline in solar activity came as a surprise to scientists: the maximum of the current cycle occurred only a year and a half ago, while January and early February 2026 turned out to be truly "hot" - the star broke century-old records for the power of the radiation storm and the number of powerful flares in one region. Recently, for the first time since 2021, not a single spot remained on it.
Read more on the topic:
- The Sun is behaving strangely: the strongest magnetic storm in a month hit Earth on February 16
- A second Chelyabinsk meteorite may fall as early as tomorrow: an astronomer called for including a protection system in the national project "Space"
- At IKI RAN, they explained why scientists have no data on the far side of the Sun
