Sunspot AR2443 is so big, it is attracting the attention of
astrophotographers around the world. Earlier today when Peter Rosén of
Stockholm, Sweden, photographed the sprawling complex, he found a
spaceship hiding among its dark cores. Seriously. Take a close look at
the image below:
Indeed, AR244 is huge. From end to end it measures
almost 200,000 km. Many of the dark cores are as large as terrestrial
continents--and a couple are as large as Earth itself. These dimensions
make it an easy target for backyard solar telecopes.
Of greater interest is the
sunspot's potential for explosive activity. The spotty complex has a
'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. Any such explosions will be geoeffective as the sunspot turns squarely toward Earth in the days ahead.http://www.spaceweather.com/
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