Giant sunspot region visible in eclipse glasses
Did you save your eclipse glasses from the April 8 total solar eclipse? If so, it’s time to get them out again! Check to make sure they’re still safe and haven’t cracked or gotten holes while in storage. Do this by putting them on and looking anywhere but at the sun. If all you see is blackness, then they’re safe. Then, look toward the sun to see the monster sunspot region AR3664, currently crossing the Earth-facing side of the sun. This sunspot region has already burst forth X flares, and more may be in the works! In fact, some of the sun-stuff that erupted from this region is making its way toward Earth and may trigger auroras.
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Today’s giant sunspot region and the 1859 Carrington Event
Spaceweather.com reports the size of AR3664 is comparable to the active region that released an enormous flare in 1859, resulting in the Carrington Event. But scientists said the Carrington Event may have been an X80 flare, and so far the biggest flare AR3664 has released was an X2.3 on May 9, 2024.
So what happened during the Carrington Event? As Andy Briggs wrote for EarthSky:
On September 2, 1859, around the world, compasses at sea failed to work, causing some ships to become lost. Telegraph networks experienced disruption, with some telegraph lines catching fire. Tellingly, people as far south as the Caribbean and Mexico saw auroras. Scientists now believe that what happened on that day was an extreme geomagnetic storm.
And what if a Carrington-type event happened today? Andy wrote:
There would almost certainly be widespread burnout of electronic circuits and the failure of power grids … In space, satellites would also fail as their electronics fried.
Read more about the Carrington Event.
Images of AR3664
Are your eclipse glasses ready to go? Here’s what you’ll see. These images of the giant sunspot region are from the last two days.
![Yellowish sun with dark mottlings, including one near bottom right with lots of dark blotches.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/Megaspot-AR3664-May-8-2024-David-Hawkes-Sheffield-UK-e1715262960993.jpeg)
![4 panels showing a sunspot region growing in size and complexity.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/Evolution-of-AR3664-Meiying-Lee-Taipei-Taiwan-May-6-to-9-2024-e1715263080752.jpg)
![Greenish corner of the sun showing a bright white patch as it erupts.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/X2.2Flare-May92024-SDO-131.webp)
More images of AR3664
![The sun, seen as a large white sphere with small dark spots.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/Patricio-Leon_sun-in-white-light-with-AR3664-and-other-sunspots_Santiago-Chile_2024-may-08-e1715227890900.jpg)
![The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with a mottled surface.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/Mario-Rana_sun-in-hydrogen-alpha-with-AR3664-and-other-sunspots_Hampton-VA_2024-may-08-e1715227874419.jpg)
![The sun, seen as a large yellow sphere with dark spots, each labeled.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/05/NASA-SDO_sun-in-visible-light_2024-may-09_0045UTC_labels-e1715227845612.jpg)
Bottom line: Did you save your eclipse glasses from the April 8 total solar eclipse? If so, get them out and check out this giant sunspot region – AR3664 – now facing Earth!
Read more: EarthSky’s sun news