The Sun on March 30, 2001. You can see the huge sunspot in the upper, right hand part of the Sun. Though it doesn't look like much, this area is equivalent to the surface area of 14 Earths! The sunspot has since moved so that it is on the far side of the Sun from Earth.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Spaceweather.com
Massive Sunspot! (Updated!)
News story originally written on April 4, 2001
The largest sunspot of the decade has shown up on the Sun. It let off the largest solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) of the decade on Monday, April 2!
This flare and CME won't hit Earth directly. But, there still may be increased auroral activity the nights of April 4th-5th.
If this solar event had struck Earth directly, there might have been serious radio disruptions or power blackouts!
Stay tuned to Spaceweather.com for updates!
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