ESA/AOES
For researchers, it is a milestone for solar physics. NOAA 13664’s magnetic field has become progressively more complex.
It was the longest continuous observation already obtained from a single active region of the Sun: follow the NOAA 13664 throughout 94 dias.
NOAA 13664 is the official name/code given to an active region on the Sun — a zone where the magnetic field is particularly strong and complex, often associated with sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections.
The evolution of this area was monitored from its emergence to its decline, between April and July 2024.
covered him three complete rotations of the Sun — each lasting around 28 days — and offered a virtually uninterrupted view of the evolution of the magnetic field of the region.
For researchers, this is a milestone for solar physics: From Earth, an active region is only visible for about two weeks before disappearing to the far side, but Solar Orbiter has expanded this “observation time” by managing to monitor part of our planet’s non-visible hemisphere.
This is how NOAA 13664 could be followed when it was still on the far side. In May 2024, the region became visible from Earth and was associated with geomagnetic storms more intense since 2003, which generated auroras observed at unusual latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
Solar active regions concentrate strong and complex magnetic fields, capable of triggering flares and coronal mass ejections, reinforces the .
These phenomena release radiation and energetic particles that can interfere with technologies on Earth and in orbit, causing failures in satellite communications, disruptions to the electrical grid, damage to satellites and increased radiation exposure for air crews.
The study also indicates that, throughout the three rotations, the magnetic field Dai noaa 13662 Se became progressively more complex. On May 20, 2024, the region was associated with the most intense eruption in the last two decades, recorded on the far side of the Sun.
Scientists believe that this type of prolonged observation helps improve “space weather” predictionsalthough the exact moment and intensity of the eruptions still escape current precision
