Active Sunspot Region 4366 Crosses the Sun
Image Credit & Copyright:
Daniel Korona
An unusually active sunspot region is now crossing the Sun.
The region, labelled
AR 4366, is much larger than the Earth and has
produced several powerful solar
flares over the past ten days.
In the featured image, the region is marked by large and dark
sunspots
toward the upper right of the Sun's disk.
The image captured the Sun over a hill in
Zacatecas,
Mexico, 5 days ago.
AR 4366 has become a candidate for the most active solar region in this entire 11-year
solar cycle.
Active solar regions
are frequently associated with increased
auroral activity on the
Earth.
Now reaching the edge,
AR 4366 will begin facing away from the
Earth during the coming week.
It is not known, though, if the active region will survive long enough to reappear in about two weeks' time, as the
Sun rotates.