BIG NEW SUNSPOT: New sunspot 1035 is growing rapidly and it is now seven times wider than Earth. This makes it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Yesterday, Rogerio Marcon of Campinas, Brazil, photographed a maelstrom of hot plasma and magnetic filaments connecting the sunspot's dark cores:
"Solar activity is picking up," he says.
The magnetic polarity of the spot identifies it as a member of Solar Cycle 24--the cycle we've been waiting for to end the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. One spot isn't enough to end the lull, but sunspot 1035 could herald bigger things to come. Stay tuned for updates.
sunspot photos: from Etienne Lecoq of Normandy, France; from Jean-Paul Rroux at the Pic du Midi Observatory; from Vahan Yeterianof Lompoc, California; from G.Harmon et al of South Portland, Maine;from John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from Tom King of Watauga, Texas; from John Nassr of Baguio, Philippines; from David Gradwell of Birr Ireland.