After a prolonged lull, the Sun is once again showing signs of increasing activity. Two new groups of sunspots have appeared in the central part of the visible disk, capable of becoming sources of more powerful flares.
In recent weeks, the star's activity remained unusually low for the current phase of the solar cycle. This even led to speculation that the next solar minimum might occur earlier than expected – 2029–2030.
Now the situation has changed. New sunspot regions are developing rapidly, and their location is particularly interesting for Earth: they are close to the center of the solar disk.
If strong flares occur in these regions and the accompanying plasma ejections are directed towards us, they are capable of causing geomagnetic disturbances on Earth.
So far, the registered events do not pose an immediate threat. However, the further development of new sunspots will show whether the recent period was just a temporary pause or if the Sun is indeed beginning a new cycle of activity.