"Moreover," he adds, "a second sunspot has appeared, number 1027, and it is growing rapidly."
Two big sunspots in one day? That hasn't happened in more than a year. Two is not enough to end the deepest solar minimum in a century; nevertheless, it is a welcome interruption. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.
more images: from Chin Wei Loon of As-syams Solar Observatory, University of Malaya, Malaysia; from Adrian Guzman of San Jose, California; from Guenter Kleinschuster of Feldbach, Austria; from Vahan Yeterian of Lompoc, California; from John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from Francisco A. Rodriguez of Cabreja Mountain Observatory, Canary Islands; from Peter Paice of Belfast, Northern Ireland;
RELATED:
Sunspot 1026 continues to produce a few B-Class solar flares. The biggest of which was a B4.2 @ 20:41.
New Sunspot 1027 which formed early Tuesday in the northern hemisphere continues to grow in size, but remains fairly quiet.
This is the first time since about 3 months ago that 2 sunspots have appeared at the same time - and they are quite a bit bigger. There will remain a chance for B-Class flares, and perhaps a chance for a C-Class event.
The solar flux for Tuesday was 75 which is a new Cycle 24 record. I previously had it listed as 89 which was recorded in March 2008, however that was the result of Cycle 23 sunspots. The sunspot number is 26 which matches the Cycle 24 record.
