Wired, AP, Nat’l Geo etc: Sun grows its biggest spot in years, sprays particles (this time, not at us)
A solar storm with a large, roiling dark sunspot at its root got some attention in the news today after it rolled into view on the rotating sun (that sparkly spot toward the upper left of the righthand pic). At Wired Adam Mann calls it (or his editor does) a behemoth in the headline, at AP Seth Borenstein labels it a benevolent monster (it kindly aimed its eruption column in another direction than Earthward), and at Universe Today Nancy Atkinson fills readers in a bit on the hefty X-class flare that shot out of this ‘bad boy’ among solar active regions.
There really is not much more to say about this latest sign that the sun seems to be easing back from its threat of recent years to go into a profound and long spotless funk. That would be the sort of thing that can slightly dim sunlight and cool the Earth (sunspots, in visible light, are dark, but as the image shows a lot of energy comes out and, even in visible light, the overall sun is brighter when it has spots on it. I think.)
Te pictures are terrific. Bigger headlines will come if this region fires off another big one when it comes around farther and aims in our direction.
Grist for the Mill: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory site.
- Charlie Petit
