Monday 7 May 2012

AR11476 - Largest Spot In Years?

AR11476 by Mark Townley
AR11476, a photo by Mark Townley on Flickr.

One of the largest sunspots we have seen in years rotated around the limb this weekend. Measuring more than 100,000km in size this active region is a solar giant, and can be seen in the picture with it's complex 'beta-gamma' magnetic field crackling with micro-flare activity. NASA is forecasting a 70% chance of M-Class flares from it over the coming days, and as rotates to be Earth facing there is a real chance of possible auroral activity. One to keep an eye on!