I'm just waiting for a monster solar flare. Thanks for the fyi

Didn't SOHO stop working on the 4th?
How they get this image on the 6th?

Originally posted by grey580
Didn't SOHO stop working on the 4th?
How they get this image on the 6th?

Oddly the HMI and Sunspot data is still fresh, only Ultraviolet is down...ah ha...

BIG SUNSPOT 1476 could or could not be dangerous....

That's what the OP title should say.

Yes I guess it could be dangerous if you look up to long at the aurora's at night(you might get a kink in your neck). I wouldn't lose no sleep over it in fact I think it's cool to be able to see this our parents never had this kind of technology. Someday it will lead to more information about our planet. Maybe change in weather patterns warming or cooling of the core who knows. But for now I just keep watch x-class flares cause awesome aurora's.The sun is fun to watch also from hyder flares to solar flares.

Well it certainly is a large sunspot, currently at 12:03 am EST having a Beta-Gamma configuration. The most complex configuration for a sunspot is Beta-Gamma-Delta, which is capable of generating massive flares.

It should be noted that a sunspot's size is not necessarily indicative of its eruptive geomagnetic potential. You can have a massive sunspot that whimpers out C class flares and not much else, or a much smaller sunspot that is much more geomagnetically complex that can unleash extremely powerful x-flares.

That being said, this sunspot certainly looks like it has the potential to eventually evolve into Beta-Gamma-Delta configuration. In the past 36-48 hours it has put out several M-class flares. I believe one or two of these flares generated small CMEs.

We must also remember that not all flares produce Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), or Solar Proton Events (SPEs).

Order of solar flare events:

1. Solar Flare - Travels at the speed of light, x-rays, takes 8 minutes to reach earth.
2. Solar Proton Event - Only present in very powerful flares, follows hours after the flare. Can cause satellites to malfunction, is a risk to astronauts and high-latitude flights.
3. Coronal Mass Ejection - A massive magnetically charged cloud of plasma that takes anywhere from 18 hours (Carrington Event was the fastest CME ever recorded) to 48 hours to reach earth. If powerful enough and oriented in the correct polarity (opposite earth's magnetic field), can cause geomagnetic storms on earth. CMEs produced by powerful X-flares, and even some by M-flares can cause severe storms.

I might also add that the orientation of the sunspot relative to earth is also important in whether or not we get the full brunt of the storm's geomagnetic force. The worst case scenario is to have a massive X-flare with an associated CME pointed directly at earth with a south-facing polarity. A lot of things need to line up just right to get us in this situation though.

I hope the sun takes out my satellite internet. I only get service half the time, and want to get out of my useless $90 a month contract.

Not to be the negative one but doesn't it seem like we see one ofthose threads at least once a week? The sun is apparently always on the verge f exploding and releasing an apocalyptic solar flare( which will never happen). And I don't think people realize this is just the suns climaxing hear and it will begin it's cooling process probably at the end of the year. That stupid Nicolas cage movie has people thinking a ball of fire will English the earth, not realize that the earths magnetic field averts 80% of them. If anything it might raise temperatures a bit, burn the ozone later a little more, and give you an above average case of sunburn, but that's about it.