BIG SUNSPOT BOOSTS ODDS FOR FLARES: The rapid growth of sunspot AR1726 continues.

BIG SUNSPOT BOOSTS ODDS FOR FLARES: The rapid growth of sunspot AR1726 continues. Invisible when the weekend began, it is now a behemoth more than 150,000 km (a dozen Earth diameters) wide. This movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the active region's development:

The sunspot has a delta-class magnetic field that harbors energy for powerful eruptions. NOAA forecasters put the odds of an M-class solar flare today at 40%, and an X-class flare at 10%. Because of AR1726's almost-central location on the solar disk, any flares will be Earth-directed.

[link to www.spaceweather.com]

[link to www.spaceweather.com]