"Earth faces threat of powerful solar storms from giant sunspot eruptions"
The sun has released a series of solar flares, including nine powerful M-class flares, in the past 24 hours, with at least seven attributed to the giant sunspot region known as AR3311 as it slowly turns to face Earth. AR3311 is joined by another huge sunspot, AR3310, which was responsible for the colossal solar flare on May 16 that caused widespread radio blackouts. The volatile pair are slowly rotating into view and will be directly facing us by the weekend. Solar activity is on the rise as part of solar cycle 25, which scientists predict will peak in 2025.