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The Chance Of Flares Just Doubled


There are now two dangerous sunspots facing Earth. In the past 48 hours, AR3664 has more than doubled in size, becoming one of the largest sunspots of the current solar cycle. It is inset in this magnetic map of the sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:



Among the sunspot's dark cores, magnetic poles of opposite polarity are bumping together in explosive proximity. As a result, AR3664 now poses a threat for X-flares like its more active cousin AR3663 in the northern hemisphere.


Do you have eclipse glasses left over from April 8th? Use them to look at the sun today. AR3663 is ten times wider than Earth and can be seen with no magnification.


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