24th ‘sunspot’ cycle likely to begin in March

According to planetarium experts, the phenomenon may affect the earth’s atmosphere and human life in many ways.

As a precautionary measure, experts will soon start distributing pamphlets and cautioning children about this in the city.

D D Purohit, additional assistant engineer at the planetarium, said, “It was in January this year when NASA and the US-based National Oceanic and Aeronautical Association (NOAA) found some signs of the 24th sunspot life cycle.”

He further said, “We have records of when sunspots affected human life. It was in 1969 when there was a total blackout in Quebec City, Canada following a storm due to this phenomenon,” adding that it may also cause damage to the human brain cells.

Purohit added: “The storm might also have effects on around 936 manmade satellites revolving around the earth 24X7.”

Pointing out that there are instances of this storm affecting gas stations and communication systems, he said, “There is not much awareness among people about this observable fact and they should shield themselves before they are affected by the sunspot storm.”

Detailing about the cause of sunspots, he said the temperature at the core of the Sun remains around two crore degrees Celsius and in the second layer, it is around 6000 degrees Celsius. A plasma comprising gaseous and liquid state revolves around it, and generally it does not allow the temperature or heat of the inner core to come up onto the photosphere.

“This leads to a fall in the temperature of the photosphere to about 4500 degrees C at some spots, which creates flares surrounding the spots which are quite visible form earth,” he said, adding that the flares can create storms.

Such storms contain various electromagnetic radiations and ionic atoms adversely affecting the poles and the magnetic field of earth.