[Alex on EARTHSKY.ORG] A Grand Solar Minimum happens when the peaks of several solar cycles in a row show less than average intensity. Are we in one? (Image: NOAA)

The post A Grand Solar Minimum? Or a Normal Sun? appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

[Alex on EARTHSKY.ORG] Lots of fun with the Sun lately. A coronal mass ejection slammed into Earth and gave weekend aurora. Then the Sun fired off a moderate solar flare.

The post Sunspot Region AR2965, M2 Solar Flare & Glorious Auroras appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

As of October 23, 2014, AR12192 is now the Biggest sunspot in 2 solar cycles. Just yesterday it reached the rank of largest sunspot in cycle 24. The sunspot measures a whopping 2700 microhemispheres (MH or millionths of a visible […]

The post AR12192: Biggest Sunspot of Two Solar Cycles! appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

14:28 UT – Flare peaked in GOES X-rays at X1.6   14:17 UT – The flare is still in progress but at the X1.4 level. NOAA/SWPC issued a R3 (out of 5) radio blackout (Wide area blackout of HF (high […]

The post Another X-flare from AR12192 appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

Since rotating into view, the sunspot group AR12192 has continued to grow in size and complexity, becoming the largest sunspot of the current solar cycle, cycle 24 (SC24.) The region has produced numerous C and M-class flares including an X1 flare. As […]

The post AR12192: The Largest Sunspot Group of Solar Cycle 24 appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

Sunspot group, AR12192, released a strong burst of magnetic energy in the form of an X1.1 flare and a surge of solar plasma. The solar flare peaked in the GOES X-ray monitor at 5:01 UT, 10/19/2014. There was no significant […]

The post The Big Spot Gives an X1.1 Solar Flare appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

The active region on the southeast limb has now been designated as AR12192. This region has already produced several M and many C-class flares. Philippe Tosi of Nîmes, France, took this photograph of AR12192 on Oct. 18, 2014. The animated […]

The post A Big Spot Coming into View appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

AR12158 produced an X1.6 flare along with a coronal mass ejection. The flare peaked in X-rays at 17:45 UT. 18:20 UT (9/11/2014) – This movie is a difference movie created by Dr. Nariaki Nitta (@halocme) from the Lockheed Martin Solar and […]

The post AR12158 Gives Away an X-flare and CME appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

High above the solar surface in the hot million+ C solar corona sits a giant filament of cooler (~50,000 C), denser material, both supported and restrained by solar magnetic fields. If this filament should become unstable as they sometimes do […]

The post Giant Filament Staring at Earth appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.

01:22 UT – AR12113 produced an M1.2 flare that peaked in GOES X-ray at 00:26 UT Type II radio emission was detected at 00:29 UT. This emission is associated with a solar eruption and typically indicate a coronal mass ejection […]

The post Another M-flare from AR12113 appeared first on The Sun Today with Dr. C. Alex Young.