Departing Sunspots

Departing Sunspots

Two sunspots that have threatened Earth with flares during the past week will soon be gone. AR2080 and AR2085 are about to disappear over the sun's western limb. "These two amazing sunspot groups are saying goodbye with a splendid array of prominences, filaments and minor flare activity," reports Sergio Castillo who sends this parting shot from his backyard observatory in Corona, CA:

 

Although these sunspots are leaving, they still pose a threat to Earth. Both of them are well-connected to our planet by the sun's spiraling magnetic field. If one of them erupts this weekend--a distinct possibility--energetic particles could be funneled by magnetic forces back toward Earth, causing a solar proton storm.

Meanwhile, another active sunspot is not leaving: AR2087 is almost directly facing Earth and it has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Any eruption from this sunspot would hit Earth head on. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of X-flares on June 14th.

From SpaceWeather.com