Группа солнечных пятен 1429: грядет второе пришествие!

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ALMOST-BLANK SUN: In case you needed a reminder that this solar cycle is the weakest in decades, take a look at the solar disk. Today it's almost blank:

Only last month, solar activity reached a fever pitch with one sunspot alone dumping enough energy in Earth's atmosphere to power every residence in New York City for two years. Such outbursts are consistent with predictions that solar maximum is only about one year away. Yet even on the threshold of Solar Max, the sun remains capable of deep quiet. Stay tuned for more ups and downs.

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Daily Sun: 01 Apr 12

Returning sunspot AR1429 is just a shadow of its former self, having decayed substantially during its two week trip around the backside of the sun. Credit: SDO/HMI

RETURN OF THE SUNSPOT: Sunspot AR1429, the source of many strong flares and geomagnetic storms earlier this month, is about to re-appear following a two-week trip around the backside of the sun. Magnetic loops towering over the sun's NE limb herald the sunspot's approach:

Earlier today, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed plumes of plasma rising and falling over the limb: movie. Moreover, a pair of solar flares (C5- and C7-class) in the sunspot's towering magnetic canopy caused waves of ionization to ripple through the high atmosphere over Europe.

While sunspot AR1429 was transiting the farside, it erupted multiple times. Between March 23rd and March 27th, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded four coronal mass ejections, each racing away from the sun faster than 3 million mph: movie. Collectively, these events suggest AR1429 might still be capable of potent solar activity. Stay tuned. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.