A Sunspot Super-Group

A remarkable "super group" has formed in the sun's southern hemisphere. Just south of the equator, five sunspots are crowded together in close proximity with shifting areas of magnetic connection. The behemoth is crackling with solar flares:

Amateur astronomer Andy Devey sends this movie from Mojacar, Spain: "I filmed the complex area consisting of five separate active regions between 10:00 and 12:35 UT on April 24th," he says. "Several C-class and almost M-class flares can be seen."

The five sunspots are AR3638, AR3643, AR3645, AR3647 and AR3650. Bumping together, they have jointly produced three to five M-flares per day all week long. This activity is expected to continue as the super-group rounds the western limb of the sun where, for a day or so, it will be magnetically connected to Earth via the Parker Spiral. Debris (especially energetic protons) guided by the spiral to Earth could cause radiation storms on April 26-28.

Source: https://www.spaceweather.com/