THEWEATHERMOGIL:: Enroute to a solar minimum, Sun displays a large sunspot

H. Michael Mogil April 11, 2016April 11, 2016

Our Sun exhibits a periodic march from a minimum of sunspot activity to a maximum, and back again (Fig. 1). Right now we are deep in minimum territory. Still, solar activity can deviate from the larger scale cycling at any time.

Sunspot AR2529 has become quite a large sunspot (Fig. 2), doubling in size over the past weekend. The sunspot (the largest of 2016 to date) is now large enough to, figuratively, “swallow” the Earth.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is keeping a close eye on this active sunspot region. Scientists at the SDO note that the magnetic fields near the sunspot’s core are crackling with minor C-class solar flares. While none of these flares is very strong, the ensemble of explosions is doing a good job heating the sun’s atmosphere above the sunspot. The towering “hot spot” is clearly shown in an extreme ultraviolet image taken by the SDO on Apr. 10, 2016 (Fig. 3).

Despite its large size and state of unrest, Sunspot AR2529 has not yet launched a significant solar storm. It could still do, scientists note, should the sunspot continue to grow in size in the days ahead.

Here at the Global Weather and Climate Center, we’ll keep you posted on any changes to the sunspot and its potential impacts to Earth.

Sunspot Number computation information can be found here.

Originally posted 4/11/16

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