Switching our attention to the sun, SpaceWeather.com tells us that “sunspot 1029 emerged over the weekend, as it is crackling with B- and C-class solar flares.” The site says that sunspots are “cool planet-sized areas on the Sun where intense magnetic loops poke through the star’s visible surface.” The sunspot’s solar flares are classified by their x-ray brightness; B- and C-class flares are small, and don’t cause many issues here on earth. (To learn more about the classification of solar flares, head here: http://spaceweather.com/glossary/flareclasses.html?PHPSESSID=v7eb9n3fnunnmfpjo66sqjno83).  This region is a member of new Solar Cycle 24, and SpaceWeather.com says “if its growth continues apace, sunspot 1029 could become the biggest sunspot of 2009.  You can see photos, animations and updates on sunspot 1029 at SpaceWeather.com.

 

-Alexandra Wilson