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Credit & Copyright: Alfredo Vidal Pörez
Explanation:
Right now, one of the largest sunspot groups in recent history is crossing the Sun.
Active Region 4478 is not only big -- it's violent, showing tangled magnetic fields capable of throwing off huge clouds of particles into the
Solar System.
Some of these CMEs might impact the Earth.
At the extreme, these
solar storms could cause some
Earth-orbiting satellites to malfunction,
the Earth's atmosphere to slightly distort, and electrical power grids to surge.
When impacting
Earth's upper atmosphere,
these particles can produce
beautiful auroras.
Pictured here,
AR 4478 and its dark
sunspots
were captured in visible light a few days ago from
Barcelona,
Spain.
Almost as large as
AR 3664 was in 2024, the
AR 4478 sunspot group is so big that it is
visible just with glasses specially designed to view
solar eclipses.
This week,
skygazing enthusiasts all over the globe will not only be tracking AR 4478 during the day -- but keenly watching night skies for its
corresponding bright auroras.
Sky Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sunspot - Sun
Publications with words: sunspot - Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2026 February 11 Á A Year of Sunspots
- APOD: 2026 February 8 Á Active Sunspot Region 4366 Crosses the Sun
- APOD: 2025 December 7 Á The Sun and Its Missing Colors
- APOD: 2025 May 21 Á International Space Station Crosses the Sun
- APOD: 2025 March 16 Á Venus and the Triply Ultraviolet Sun
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO