APOD: Violent Sunspot Group AR 1302 ... (2011 Sep 28)

[APOD Robot]

Violent Sunspot Group AR 1302 Unleashes a Flare

Explanation: One of the most active sunspot groups in years is currently crossing the Sun. AR 1302 first came around the Sun's edge last week and is so large it can be seen without a telescope. Coronal Mass Ejections from AR 1302 have already caused strong geomagnetic storms including notable aurora activity around both of Earth's poles. Pictured above, plasma was left magnetically hanging above the Sun's surface after AR 1302 emitted an X-class solar flare last Thursday. Earth is illustrated in the inset for a size comparison. Although another X-class flare was emitted on Saturday, no flares from AR 1302 have been aimed directly at the Earth, as yet. The AR 1302 sunspot group will continue to evolve but likely remain visible on the Sun for the next week.

<< Previous APOD

Discuss Any APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

[Boomer12k]

And we are not even visible dots on that little planet....


:--------======== *

[cketter]

Click to view full size image

www.spaceweather.com
Damien Vens took the picture from the beach in Koksijde, Belgium

Seagulls transit the setting sun on sept. 27
above and below sunspot AR 1302

[starstruck]

Great picture; the scale of that sunspot and coronal ejection is quite mind boggling!

I am absolutely delighted because I have just managed to see this sunspot in reality, as it is happening on the surface of the sun, by using the ultra-careful method indicated by 'mexhunter' in his post on the Observation Deck (sorry, I'm not yet adept enough to link to it from here , maybe someone more knowledgeable will be able to...) Thank you mexhunter, your picture inspired me to go outside in the glorious sunshine we're having today and give it a try . . . and it worked!

I'll be keeping my eyes on the night sky too, just on the off-chance that I might be fortunate enough to see any Aurorae from my location. That would be the icing on the cake!

[nstahl]

Nice pic. The link from yesterday's APOD to today's doesn't work and on yesterday's there's something about an astronomy picture of the week I was not allowed to access.

[orin stepanek]

Although another X-class flare was emitted on Saturday, no flares from AR 1302 have been aimed directly at the Earth, as yet.

And I'd just as soon that they dont!

[saturn2]

Coronal Mass Ejections from Ar 1302 on the Sun.
The impact on the magnetic Earth is very important, incluiding auroras in the sky.

[DavidLeodis]

Great image, also showing just how small our planet is.

I am confused by the wording of the final sentence that reads "The AR 1302 sunspot group will continue to evolve but likely remain visible on the Sun for the next week." It is the use of "but" that seems odd here (at least to me). I wonder if it should be "and" not "but".

[owlice]

I think it meant that it would probably not evolve out of existence. That's how I took it, anyway.

I just looked at the sunspot with binoculars displaying the image on white paper. Very cool! It's very hard (read: impossible!) to handhold binoculars and have the image stay steady. I had to move a few times, as the power lines which grace my street were bisecting the sun initially, and then a cat knocked the foamcore the paper was mounted on over, and then the wind... well, you get the idea. Would have been easier with fewer cats, another person or two, and something steady to rest the specs on!

But I could see the sunspot! SO cool!

[DavidLeodis]

I think it meant that it would probably not evolve out of existence. That's how I took it, anyway.

I just looked at the sunspot with binoculars displaying the image on white paper. Very cool! It's very hard (read: impossible!) to handhold binoculars and have the image stay steady. I had to move a few times, as the power lines which grace my street were bisecting the sun initially, and then a cat knocked the foamcore the paper was mounted on over, and then the wind... well, you get the idea. Would have been easier with fewer cats, another person or two, and something steady to rest the specs on!

But I could see the sunspot! SO cool!

Thanks owlice. Yes I see that is probably what the final sentence is meant to mean.

In the late 1970s (to possibly the early 1980s) I used to look at sunspots on sunny mornings (through a dark lens that was suitable to do so) and I recorded my observations as simple pencil drawings. I recall being confused though why the sunspots seemed to move down as they moved across the Sun over a few days. It took me a long while before it struck me that it was probably due to the angle of the Earth to the Sun! I would never have made a scientist! I haven't looked at my drawings for very many years now but I know they were accurate enough as I recall once coming across a reference to a very active period and when I looked at my drawings at that time they reflected that as the spots were very complex. It was all done just for my interest, as my simple drawings of sunspot activities will be of no interest elsewhere.