Monster Sunspot Fires Off Powerful Solar Flares

The sun unleashed an M4.7 class flare at 8:32 EDT on May 9, 2012 as captured here by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The flare was over quickly and there was no coronal mass ejection associated with it. This image is shown in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength that is typically colorized in teal and that provided the most detailed picture of this particular flare. CREDIT: NASA/SDO View full size image

A huge sunspot that dwarfs the Earth is unleashing a series of powerful solar flares as it moves across the surface of the sun, NASA scientists say.

The sunspot AR 1476 was detected by space telescopes on May 5. The huge sunspot is 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) across, so large that when it was first seen in views from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, mission scientists dubbed it a "monster sunspot."

The monster sunspot group AR 1476 (upper left) measures more than 60,000 miles from end to end. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft snapped this photo on May 7, 2012.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO

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Earlier this week, space weather scientists predicted the sunspot would erupt with powerful solar flares, and those predictions have since come true. So far, the sunspot has fired off several flares, including a strong solar storm early Thursday (May 10).

"Solar activity has been at high levels for the past 24 hours with multiple M-class solar flares observed," stated an update Thursday from the Space Weather Prediction Center, a joint service of NOAA and the National Weather Service. Sunspot region AR 1476 was responsible for nearly all of the sun's storm activity, center officials said. [Worst Solar Storms in History]

On Thursday, sunspot AR 1476 unleashed a powerful flare at 12:18 a.m. EDT (0418 GMT) that registered as a class M5.7 eruption. M-class solar flares are medium-strength sun storms that can still unleash powerful blasts of radiation and magnetic solar plasma. So far, the sunspot has not triggered huge explosions from the sun, which scientists call coronal mass ejections.

On the scale of solar flares, X-class storms are the most powerful and can interfere with satellites and infrastructure on Earth when aimed at our planet. M-class storms are the second-most powerful flares and can set off geomagnetic storms that create dazzling northern lights displays when the eruptions reach Earth. C-class flares, the weakest category, have little effect on Earth.

NASA officials said the Thursday solar storm is just one of many to erupt from the massive sunspot.

"The sunspot, dubbed Active Region 1476, has so far produced seven M-class flares and numerous C-class flares, including two M-class flares on May 9, 2012 that peaked at 8:32 EDT and 10:08 EDT," the space agency wrote in a Thursday space weather update.

"These flares were all short-lived and there were no associated coronal mass ejections, so we do not expect any geomagnetic storms at Earth," NASA officials added. That means a supercharged northern lights display from the recent solar storms is currently unlikely.

Another NASA account stated that the sunspot has unleashed as many as 32 solar flares so far.

Sunspot AR 1476 compared to the size of Jupiter. Image released May 10, 2012.
CREDIT: SDO/NASA (via Twitter @Camilla_SDO)

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It will take sunspot AR 1476 about two weeks to complete its trip across the face of the sun, as seen from Earth, NASA officials said.

The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle. The current cycle, known as Solar Cycle 24, will peak in 2013.

This story was provided by SPACE.com, a sister site to LiveScience.  You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcomand on Facebook.