Sunspot region 3088 departs, is 3089 about to take over?

Monday, 29 August 2022 15:36 UTC

Sunspot region 3088 departs, is 3089 about to take over?

Sunspot region 3088 keeps firing away as it has now has rotated behind the west limb. An M8.6 solar flare at 11:07 UTC today has been its strongest solar flare thus far but the flare was of short duration and does not look eruptive. None of the coronal mass ejections launched today or yesterday by this region is directed at our planet due to the region's location. Good bye 3088, we hope you survive your trip around the far side of the Sun!

Sunspot region 3089

In the mean time, we do still have sunspot region 3089 on the earth-facing solar disk. This sunspot region was active a few days ago but has quieted down considerably. Remarkable as it does have a magnetic delta structure and thus a complex Beta-Gamma-Delta (BGD) magnetic layout. The spots of opposite polarities are not very cramped together which could explain the relative silence from this region but it's complex layout does mean the group has the potential to produce M-class solar flares if this region continues to develop. Absolutely something to keep an eye on in the hours and days ahead. If the group producing a strong solar flare and launches a coronal mass ejection the chances are high that it will have an earth-directed component!

Magnetogram of sunspot region 3089 and in visible light, showing it's complex BGD magnetic layout.
Magnetogram of sunspot region 3089 and in visible light, showing it's complex BGD magnetic layout.

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