EASTERN SUNSPOTS
Posted by JAC on 2/26/2011, 7:52 am
The northeastern limb of the sun is peppered with sunspots, photographed during the early hours of Feb. 26th by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:







On Feb. 24th, the scatter of small spots in the foreground unleashed a spectacular M3-class solar flare.

How did such a puny group of spots produce such a potent explosion?

The region has an complex "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares.

It's actually more likely to produce explosions than the larger yet simpler sunspot above and behind it.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours.

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Significant Active Region Emerging on Sun - JAC, 2/23/2011, 6:11 am
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