A STRANGELY Giant QUIET Sunspot
JACK
73 & Gud DX
K4WSB /C6A VP2MSB
#1 DXCC 340/357
A STRANGELY-QUIET GIANT SUNSPOT: Around the world, amateur astronomers are monitoring a giant sunspot emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. This morning, Pepe Manteca photographed newly-numbered AR4478 from Begues, Spain:
The sunspot group is ~10 times wider than Earth and, thus, easy to observe. You can see it using ordinary eclipse glasses, or, better yet, try casting an image of the sunspot onto a screen or wall. You can use binoculars and a mirror or a telescope and cardboard.
Although this sunspot rotated onto the Earthside of the sun only yesterday, we've been aware of it for a week. Seven days ago, Europe's Solar Orbiter watched the sunspot burst through the surface of the sun's farside and alerted us that it was coming.
Interestingly, Solar Orbiter's X-ray detector detected no strong flares from the growing sunspot complex, and it has remained quiet since then--unusual for such a large sunspot. NOAA estimates a 10% chance that AR4788 will break the spell with an X-flare on June 25th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text.
more images: from Stefan Korth of Meerbusch, Germany; from David Wilsonof Inverness, Scotland; from Maximilian-Vlad Teodorescu of Magurele, Romania; from Sylvain Weiller of Jerusalem, Israel; from Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France.
73,
Tony N2MFT, President
Mid Florida DX Association W4FDX
http://www.W4FDX.com/
DXCC/WAS/WAC/VUCC/IARU Card Checker and VE Coordinator
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