Scientists also reported that active center 4366, which three weeks ago produced six powerful X-class flares, has now completely exhausted its resources and is in a state of decay. According to forecasts, the remnants of this center will be absorbed by the Sun within 5–10 days.
At the same time, a new center 4379–4380 is forming, but its activity is also not manifesting.
“Geomagnetic activity now depends on changes in the solar wind, which is not showing significant fluctuations. Overall, the Earth's magnetic field remains stable. Apparently, the end of February and the beginning of March 2026 will not go down in the history of solar physics,” the specialists concluded.
Depressive State of the Sun
Scientists first noticed the decrease in solar activity at the beginning of the week. On February 22, all spots on the star disappeared, which happened for the first time since December 11, 2021, when the Sun also had no spots on its surface. Researchers emphasize that this state will not be long-lasting and should soon come to an end.Experts from IKI RAS noted that sunspots are an important part of the star's structure and are related to the magnetic field: dark areas form in regions with a high concentration of magnetic flux. Since the energy for solar flares comes from magnetic fields, the number and size of spots reflect the level of solar activity. Complete disappearance of spots is observed only during extremely low activity, as in the years of solar minimum.
On February 23, no flares were recorded on the Sun, and on February 24, there was only one. The last notable flare, which occurred on February 25, was at level M2.4 and became the strongest in the last two weeks. "Although this event was not extremely powerful, it is the most significant flare since February 9, when the previous surge ended," experts reported.
At the beginning of February, the Sun experienced a powerful storm: active area 4366 set a record for the 21st century, recording 66 flares. The previous record belonged to area 3664 with 64 flares of level M and above.
