Traveling sunspot group AR 1785 (July 3 – 11, 2013)

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) released video of Active Region 1785 – one of the largest sunspot groups this year, traveling across the Earth facing solar disk in period from July 3 – July 11, 2013. AR 1785 is now out of Earth view, moving onto farside.This sunspot managed to develop beta-gama-delta magnetic configuration while facing Earth and released M1.5 solar flare on July 3, 2013. AR 1785 emerged on July 1, 2013 on visible solar disk and traveled across visible solar disk until July 12, 2013.

Sunspots are magnetic regions on the Sun with magnetic field strengths thousands of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. Sunspots usually come in groups with two sets of spots. One set will have positive or north magnetic field while the other set will have negative or south magnetic field. The field is strongest in the darker parts of the sunspots – the umbra. The field is weaker and more horizontal in the lighter part – the penumbra.

Credit: LittleSDOHMI

Featured image: AR 1785 on July 7, 2013 located at the center of visible solar disk (Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams)