A colossal sunspot captured on
camera by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (one of several spacecraft
that constantly monitor the sun), could trigger solar flares this week.
The sunspot swelled to enormous proportions over 19 and 20 Feb, growing
to over 6 Earth diameters across.
As magnetic fields on the sun rearrange and realign, dark spots called sunspots can be created. Sunspots are regions on the solar surface that are cooler than their surroundings (well, 4500K but still cool compared the rest of the photosphere).
The sunspot in question grew to a "delta region", in which the magnetic fields in the center of the sunspot, point in the opposite direction of the ones in the outer region. Such a fairly unstable configuration can lead to solar flares: eruptions of radiation on the sun.
The sun’s activity is expected to peak sometime this year, while being in the midst of its 11-year weather cycle (current one called Solar Cycle 24).
Image: The bottom two black spots are part of the same system and over six Earths across
As magnetic fields on the sun rearrange and realign, dark spots called sunspots can be created. Sunspots are regions on the solar surface that are cooler than their surroundings (well, 4500K but still cool compared the rest of the photosphere).
The sunspot in question grew to a "delta region", in which the magnetic fields in the center of the sunspot, point in the opposite direction of the ones in the outer region. Such a fairly unstable configuration can lead to solar flares: eruptions of radiation on the sun.
The sun’s activity is expected to peak sometime this year, while being in the midst of its 11-year weather cycle (current one called Solar Cycle 24).
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