{"id":5707,"date":"2013-02-22T07:26:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-22T11:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=5707"},"modified":"2013-02-22T07:28:31","modified_gmt":"2013-02-22T11:28:31","slug":"massive-sunspots-appear-solar-flares-could-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/massive-sunspots-appear-solar-flares-could-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive sunspots appear, solar flares could follow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Source:<\/a>

(Source: NASA\/SDO\/AIA\/HMI\/Goddard Space Flight Center via CSM)<\/p><\/div>\n

(Source: Christian Science Monitor<\/a>)<\/p>\n

A colossal sunspot on the surface of the sun is large enough to swallow six Earths whole, and could trigger solar flares this week,\u00a0NASA<\/a>\u00a0scientists say.<\/p>\n

The giant sunspot was captured on camera by NASA’s\u00a0Solar Dynamics Observatory<\/a>\u00a0as it swelled to enormous proportions over the 48 hours spanning Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 19 and 20).[…]<\/p>\n

“It has grown to over six Earth diameters across, but its full extent is hard to judge since the spot lies on a sphere, not a flat disk,” wrote NASA spokeswomanKaren Fox<\/a>, of the agency’s\u00a0Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Greenbelt, Md.<\/a>, in an image description.<\/p>\n

[S]ome of the intense magnetic fields in the sunspot region are pointing in opposite directions, making it ripe for solar activity.<\/p>\n

“This is a fairly unstable configuration that scientists know can lead to eruptions of radiation on the sun called\u00a0solar flares<\/a>,” Fox explained.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Propagation in the higher portions of the HF band could be very interesting over the course of the next few days. \u00a0If a solar flare erupts, however, it could make shortwave listening quite difficult.<\/p>\n

Thanks for the tip, Bill!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: Christian Science Monitor) A colossal sunspot on the surface of the sun is large enough to swallow six Earths whole, and could trigger solar flares this week,\u00a0NASA\u00a0scientists say. The giant sunspot was captured on camera by NASA’s\u00a0Solar Dynamics Observatory\u00a0as it swelled to enormous proportions over the 48 hours spanning Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[809,808,1672,1126,411],"class_list":["post-5707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cme","tag-coronal-mass-ejections","tag-nasa","tag-solar-flares","tag-sunspots"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1u3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40431,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/one-sunspot-into-solar-cycle-25\/","url_meta":{"origin":5707,"position":0},"title":"One sunspot into Solar Cycle 25","author":"Thomas","date":"November 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Spaceweather Archive via Michael Bird) Nov. 1, 2019:\u00a0Breaking a string of 28 spotless days, a new sunspot (AR2750) is emerging in the sun\u2019s southern hemisphere\u2013and it\u2019s a member of the next solar cycle. A picture of the sunspot is inset in this magnetic map of the sun\u2019s surface from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Susnapot-Cycle-25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Susnapot-Cycle-25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Susnapot-Cycle-25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41116,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/spotless-sun-about-to-set-record\/","url_meta":{"origin":5707,"position":1},"title":"Spotless sun about to set record","author":"Thomas","date":"December 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: SpaceWeather.com via Michael Bird) ONE WEEK FROM A SPACE AGE RECORD: 2019 is about to set a Space Age record. So far this year, the sun has been blank (no sunspots) for 261 days, including the last 24 days in a row. If the streak continues for only 7\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Sun-Spotless.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45455,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/nasa-video-the-solar-cycle-as-seen-from-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":5707,"position":2},"title":"NASA Video: The Solar Cycle as seen from space","author":"Thomas","date":"September 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave (K4SV), who shares this video courtesy of NASA Goddard: https:\/\/youtu.be\/Z0uIcLZ5rh8 The Sun is stirring from its latest slumber. As sunspots and flares, signs of a new solar cycle, bubble from the Sun\u2019s surface, scientists are anticipating a flurry of solar activity over the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sun-solar-cycle-flare-e1600522905875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sun-solar-cycle-flare-e1600522905875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sun-solar-cycle-flare-e1600522905875.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/sun-solar-cycle-flare-e1600522905875.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1170,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/sunspots-hibernate\/","url_meta":{"origin":5707,"position":3},"title":"Scientists predict sun may ‘hibernate’","author":"Thomas","date":"June 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"News sources are publishing information regarding new scientific research which puts our sunspot cycle into question. How does this affect the average shortwave listener? Periods of high sunspot numbers generally produce excellent DX conditions. In other words, with modest equipment, listeners can hear even weak signals around the world. Amateur\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SunSpots1-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62835,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/a-new-solar-cycle-wrinkle\/","url_meta":{"origin":5707,"position":4},"title":"A New Solar Cycle Wrinkle","author":"Robert Gulley","date":"May 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting article caught my attention on spaceweather.com concerning new research on what is called the Gleissberg Cycle. Interested? Read on! THE COUNTER-INTUITIVE QUIET CONTINUES: Big sunspots usually produce big solar flares. 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Last October, NOAA and NASA announced that Solar Max has arrived. Only half the sun got the memo. The majority of solar activity has been happening in just one of the sun's hemispheres--the south. 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