Visible to the naked eye: astronomers have shown a giant black spot on the Sun

The solar disk crosses the black spotwhich is four times the size of the Earth. Now it is directed in our direction.

The astronomer from South Korea, Bum-Suk Yom, was the first to pay attention to education, who was able to see it in simple sunglasses. However, he does not recommend repeating the trick; for eye safety, it is better to get a special device with lenses for eclipse.

business insider writesthat on May 23, observers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska were able to see him even without glasses. Experts note that this is not surprising - on that day, smoke from nearby forest fires served as a natural filter. Under other conditions, this would hardly have happened.

In fact, this is not a new spot, astronomers have been observing it for some time and even gave it a name - AR3310. The phenomenon is not rare - now the Sun is preparing for the peak of activity within its 11-year cycle, which sometimes leads to such formations. In fact, these are areas with an extremely active magnetic field. They do not pose a serious danger, but they can lead to strong solar flares, and they can lead to geomagnetic storms on Earth.

The AR3310 has already caused an M-class surge - it's level two on the intensity scale. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that as long as the sunspot faces Earth, there is a 20 percent chance of an X-class flare, the first and most powerful level. It can both bring a beautiful aurora and cause interruptions in radio communications, experts warn.