Massive Sunspot Rapidly Forming

weather.com ^ | Published: Feb 20, 2013, 7:09 PM EST

[BenLurkin]

A giant sunspot that's at least six times the diameter of Earth has formed on the sun in less than 48 hours, according to NASA.

According to a news release, scientists from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory watched the sunspot rapidly grow on February 19 and 20. The agency says it could even be larger than six times the diameter of Earth "since the spot lies on a sphere not a flat disk."

[BenLurkin]

The bottom two black spots are part of the same system that NASA says is rapidly expanding

[Nowhere Man]

I’ll have to fire up the Bearcat 210XL and see if there is any VHF-LO skip.

[freedumb2003]

(Retarded MSM:) Human activities has caused this sunspot activity!!!

Just like the meteor that hit Russia and the bigger one that almost hit the Earth!!!!

Tax yourselves and give those tax moneys to people who made poor decisions and then became poor!!! That will stop meteors and asteroids!!!!’

[steve86]

I’ve never heard any local VHF-LO — might try the same thing if there’s a flare or CME later.

[Katiana Kalashnikova]

I find this interesting and appreciate the post. However, the sun has weather just like the earth. And if you look at its weather over eons instead of years you'll see what its impact really has been. Ice ages for one. 10,000 years ago glaciers caused by the little ice age were retreating in what is now the Puget Sound in Washington State. The sun, not man caused the warming that melted the glaciers.

[Amberdawn]

Is it too much to hope it spits a fireball at Obama?

[Casie]

OK, but WHERE is it pointed? :p

[Casie]

[grateful]

♬ There's a little black spot on the sun today... ♬

[central_va]

Solar acne?

[norwaypinesavage]

It's wishful thinking at NASA, hoping for some global warming after 15 years of cooling. Here's the NASA sun image taken seven seconds after midnight today:

Their description of conditions: "normal" status, "quiet" geomagnetic conditions.

[PapaBear3625]

Although the government's models predict the peak later this year, it's looking more and more like the peak was last year, their models are crap, and the current cycle is looking a lot like the Dalton Minimum.