Astronomy picture of the day 24-10-2014 - AR 2192: Giant on the Sun

AR 2192: Giant on the Sun
Image Credit &Copyright:Randall Shivak andAlan Friedman(Averted Imagination)

Explanation: As you (safely!) watched the progress of yesterday's partial solar eclipse, you probably also spotted agiant sunspot group. Captured in this sharp telescopic image from October 22nd the complex AR 2192 is beautiful to see, a sprawling solar active region comparable in size to the diameter of Jupiter. Like other smaller sunspot groups,AR 2192 is now crossing theEarth-facing side of the Sunand appears dark in visible light because it is cooler than the surrounding surface. Still, the energy stored in the region's twisted magnetic fields is enormous and has already generated powerful explosions, includingtwo X-class solar flares this week. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with the flares have notaffected planet Earth, so far.The forecastfor further activity from AR 2192 is still significant though, as it swings across the center of the solar disk and Earth-directed CMEs become possible.