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10 december 2025, 13:25 мск

Sunspot complex 4294-4296-4298 enters the area of direct impacts on 3I/ATLAS

Geometrical arrangement of the Sun, Earth and 3I/ATLAS
Geometrical arrangement of the Sun, Earth and 3I/ATLAS

In the next two to three days, a crucial moment awaits all proponents of the conspiracy theories that have formed in large numbers around the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. One of the largest sunspot complexes of the last decade and the largest this year, 4294–4296–4298, which appeared on the visible side of the Sun about 10 days ago, is now entering the direct impact zone of the celestial body. The interstellar "comet-ship" is moving along a trajectory away from the Sun, no longer on the opposite side of the Sun, but on the side facing Earth, at an angle of approximately 65 degrees from the Sun-Earth line. The object continues to approach Earth and will make its closest approach to the planet on December 19.

Sunspot complex 4294–4296–4298 is one of the most unusual, and perhaps the most unusual, objects to form on the Sun in the current 25th cycle. A sunspot group with a huge combined area, reaching over 2,000 units at its peak (making it one of the largest in history), failed to produce a single flare from December 1st to 7th, not even a single one of the higher X-level or even the lower M-level, merely storing energy. Only in the last two days, beginning on December 8th, did it reluctantly begin to release some of its energy. On the 8th, the first and so far only X-level flare (with an X1.1 magnitude, close to the minimum possible) was recorded here; eight M-level flares also occurred over the two days. All of this is completely at odds with the record size of the active center, nor with the general understanding of the total energy reserves accumulated within it.

The mysteries facing solar physics, in this case, are apparently explained without any difficulty by conspiracy theories. The Sun has clearly been accumulating energy all this time for a final confrontation with the "alien ship," for which the most opportune moment has now arrived. The longitude of the sunspot complex's center and the 3I/ATLAS position angle will intersect tonight, December 10th-11th. This means that all of today and tomorrow, and part of Friday, the interstellar object will be in the direct line of attack from plasma clouds emanating from this center. Considering that only nine days remain until the "alien landing," such drastic measures are apparently justified, as there truly is no time for pleasantries. However, there still remains a chance that faint-hearted aliens, seeing the power arrayed against them, will voluntarily abandon their plans to invade Earth and, after creating more smoke to appear even more like a harmless comet, will move on to occupy planetary systems around less aggressive stars.

In any case, it must be admitted: if something happens here in the next two or three days, it will be... how can I find the right word... amusing. So, we'll see.

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Laboratory of Solar Astronomy,SRI RAS

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