Lmst

#ActiveSunspotRegion4366 Crosses the #Sun
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260208.html

The Sun photographed crossing the horizon showing its sunspots.

Behold #sunspot AR4366. It's huuuge! About 10 Earth diameters from left to right. It is facing almost straight to Earth, so if it goes boom we'll get to see some auroras again!
#astrophotography

Picture of a small area of the sun's surface with a backyard telescope. It shows dark areas surrounded by spaghetti-like structures. The rest of the surface shows granulation, which is caused by large scale (a few thousand kilometers) convection near the sun's surface.

Good morning! I pulled out my telescope during lunuch to take photos of the massive #sunspot 4366. As soon as I got it set up, clouds rolled in but I did manage a decent shot of 4366 and smaller companion sunspots 4367, 4369, 4368 before the sun was completely covered. #astronomy #photography

From #SolarHam - Progression of new #Sunspot #AR4366 (not yet Earth-facing, but will be soon):

"Sunspot Watch
January 31, 2026 @ 04:15 UTC
Newly assigned sunspot region 4366 continues to gradually develop as it turns into view in the northeast quadrant. It is currently producing minor C-Class flares and it is likely now a threat for a moderate M-Flare. Something to keep an eye on this weekend. Image by SDO/HMI.

Growing Flare Threat
January 31, 2026 @ 14:50 UTC
AR 4366 continued to expand over the past 12 hours in both size and magnetic complexity. The region has a Beta-Delta magnetic configuration and is producing frequent mid level minor C-Flares. A moderate M-Flare will remain possible on Saturday.

M6.6 Solar Flare
February 1, 2026 @ 10:40 UTC
Solar activity increases even further with an M6.6 solar flare peaking at 10:02 UTC (Feb 1). The source, AR 4366, is magnetically complex and is now a threat for an isolated X-Flare. Image below by SDO/AIA.

High Solar Activity
February 1, 2026 @ 16:50 UTC (UPDATED)
What a difference a few days make on the Sun. Active sunspot region 4366 turned into a firecracker on Sunday with at least fifteen M-Class solar flares and one X-Flare (so far). Despite the brightness of these events, the mechanics have so far failed to launch any noteworthy coronal mass ejections into space and towards our planet. That could change over the next few days as the region continues to develop and currently sports a Beta-Gamma-Delta magnetic configuration. More solar flares including another X-Flare will remain possible.

[And today...]

Impulsive X8.1 Solar Flare
February 2, 2026 @ 00:10 UTC
An impulsive X8.1 solar flare was just detected peaking at 23:57 UTC (Feb 1). This is the second strongest flare in terms of peak X-Ray flux of the current solar cycle. Although a bright flare, new imagery suggests that if a CME is associated, it will likely be fairly mild. Stay tuned to SolarHam where you will get the most up to date and accurate information regarding this space weather event."

https://solarham.com/

#SolarFlares #SolarCycle25 #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrome #XClassFlares

🚨 BIG SUNSPOT ALERT 🚨
Sunspot 4366 didn’t exist days ago—now it’s nearly 10× wider than Earth and already fired off a triple-peaked M7–X1–M6 solar flare lasting over 6 hours. Its unstable magnetic field means more flares are likely. A radio blackout followed… and space weather may not be done yet.
Track it live: https://spaceweather.com/

#Sunspot #SolarFlare #SpaceWeather #Sunspot4366 #XClassFlare #Astronomy

“Both NOAA and SOHO coronagraphs have detected a full halo storm cloud heading directly for Earth. NASA and NOAA models agree that the #CME will arrive Dec. 9th:”

“The impact could spark G2 (Moderate) to G3 (Strong) category geomagnetic storms. Mid-latitude auroras mixed with moonlight are possible if the storm reaches the upper end of this range. "

https://www.spaceweather.com/
#Sunspot #aurora

🚨 THE WRONG SUNSPOT KEEPS ERUPTING 🚨
While everyone’s watching monster AR4294–4296, the real action came from AR4299 on Dec. 6, firing an almost X-class M8 flare and launching a CME straight at Earth. A full-halo CME is inbound, with NASA eyeing a Dec. 9th arrival and possible G2–G3 geomagnetic storms. Mid-latitude auroras? On the menu.
More: https://spaceweather.com/

#SolarFlare #SpaceWeather #Aurora #CME #Astronomy #WestportObservatory #Sunspot #SolarActivity #GeomagneticStorm

Close-up of the sun emitting a bright solar flare with glowing plasma patterns in a blue-tinted ultraviolet view.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but the aftermath of the October 2003 solar storm (by which I mean most people never even knew anything had happened) seems to suggest that modern technology has already survived a #Carrington -level event and can presumably survive another one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Halloween_solar_storms

So why is everybody saying that big #sunspot is going to cause the end of the world as we know it? 😵‍💫 I'm confused and kinda freaked out.

#astronomy #sun #SolarFlare

In the words of spaceweather.com, this is a sunspot about which "[e]ven Richard Carrington would be impressed."
#astrophotography #sunspot

The solar disk, with some giant sunspots just below and to the right of the center of the disk. There are a few smaller ones scattered around.

Der Sonne ins Antlitz geblinzelt.
Aber gerade ziemlich was los, in unserer aktuell 147 Millionen Kilometer entfernten Zentrale.

#Sonnenflecken #Sonne #sun #Sunspot #astrophotography

Sonne mit großen Sonnenfleckengruppen. Leider keine wolkenfreie Sicht.

How big is sunspot 4294?

#astronomy
#sun
#nature
#astrophography
#photography
#smartphoneastronomy
#sunspot

https://youtube.com/shorts/fkybkY2Tj1I?si=wg4SU19SE_hrr6lo

Sun
Sun
Golden Mr. Sun
Please don’t Carrington on Me.

“Giant sunspot complex 4294-4296 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Credit: NASA/SDO”

https://www.spaceweather.com
#carringtonevent #sunspot #solarweather #beprepared #blackout #flying #electronics #tech #sun

A screenshot of the daily sun disk pic at spaceweather shows the “giant sunspot complex” currently crossing the middle of the sun.

Managed to find some thinner clouds this afternoon to photo the monster sunspot groups (from l to r: 4296, 4294, and 4298) on our star today. Shot from West Seattle w/Canon 80D, 600mm lens with no solar filter.

#OurStar #TheSun #sunspot #AstroPhotography #seattle #WestSeattle #Canon80D

A cloud-covered sun is depicted, with some details of sunspots visible on its surface. The image has a hazy appearance due to the surrounding clouds.

The #sun right now, with my 60(!)mm DSLR lens. Plus neutral density filter. At 1/4000s and aperture 22 and ISO100...

Even there the #sunspot-group is clearly visible 😬

Image of the sun with ~100 pixels across. To the center left two groups of sunspots are visible.

Pictures later but Holy Moly! That #sunspot group is MASSIVE. If have the opportunity, do take look.

#sunspot #endofdays #wheeeeee https://social.vivaldi.net/@JDGeoShack/115652030696042781

The #sunspot show goes on: now activity region (1)4274 - which caused a major geostorm last month - has returned onto the disk with the new number (1)4299. And immediately fired off an X1.9 #SolarFlare today: see https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/news/view/596/20251201-x1-9-solar-flare.html and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1255308929956301 for updates of the situation, also regarding the big group (1)4294. This is a crop from an #SDO HMI image - https://jsoc1.stanford.edu/data/hmi/images/latest/HMI_latest_Int_4096x4096.gif - of 18:11 UTC, i.e. exactly an hour ago.

🌞 GIANT SUNSPOT ALERT! A massive sunspot group—one of the biggest of Solar Cycle 25—is rotating into view. It spans ~130,000 km, and several of its dark cores are larger than Earth, making it an easy target for backyard scopes. It fired an M6 flare on Nov. 28, likely even stronger since it was partly hidden. Now that it’s facing Earth, future flares will be geoeffective. Full story at https://spaceweather.com

Photo: Shahrin Ahmad

#SpaceWeather #Sunspot #SolarCycle25 #SolarActivity #Astronomy