ANOTHER FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT: The sunspot number is increasing again. During the past 36 hours, active region AR1618 has more than quadrupled in size. It now has more than a dozen dark cores scattered across an expanse of stellar surface more than 10 times wider than Earth.
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The sunspot has also developed a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of M-class flares and a 5% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. Because of the sunspot's nearly central location on the solar disk, any eruptions will likely be Earth-directed.
[link to spaceweather.com]