Sun’s Active Region 1339 facing Earth

If you look in sun direction in time of sunset you could see the largest sunspots since 2005 . Active region 1339 is now visible from the Earth. These huge sunspots have been slowly rotating to face the Earth since November 3, 2011. The largest of these sunspots, Sunspot AR 1339, is said to be 17 times the Earth’s width. The gigantic sunspot is about 80,000 km(50,000 miles ) long. This region of the Sun has caused massive solar flares which can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. Right now Sunspot AR1339 is crackling with M-class solar flares, unleashing at least five of them in the past 24 hours. AR1339 has a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class flares. The sunspot is turning toward Earth, so the odds of a geoeffective flare are increasing. The Solar Dynamics Observatory team called AR 1339 a “Bad Boy”.

SWPC Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity and 3-day Predictions

Two new Sunspots rotated into view Saturday on the eastern limb and were assigned the numbers 1341 and 1342. A third sunspot rotated into view Sunday morning and may be assigned a number later today. Solar activity is expected to be moderate during the period (07 – 09 November) with a slight chance for high activity (M5 or higher) from Region 1339. There will also be a slight chance for a proton flare from Region 1339 during the period.