Giant Sunspot Now Aimed Directly at Earth

By Jason Major, for National Geographic News The largest active region seen on the sun since 2005 has rotated to the center of the sun's face, as seen from Earth—which means any eruptions it produces will be aimed right at us.

---

Dubbed Active Region 1339, the cluster of magnetic activity was first spotted by satellites as it started making its way around the sun's northwestern edge. The monster spot came into view of Earth-bound telescopes last week. Astronomers soon realized this is not your average sunspot—it's a giant cluster of sunspots, several of which are larger than our entire planet.

More...