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Wednesday, April 7, 2010 as of 11:14 AM ET

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Solar Dynamics Observatory

Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a NASA mission which will observe the Sun for over five years.

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Monster sunspot fires off powerful solar flares

A huge sunspot that dwarfs the Earth is unleashing a series of powerful solar flares as it moves across the surface of the sun, NASA scientists say.

Sunspot AR 1476 was detected by space telescopes on May 5. The huge sunspot is 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) across, so large that when it was first seen in views from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, mission scientists dubbed it a " monster sunspot ."Earlier this week, space weather scientists predicted the sunspot would erupt with powerful solar flares, and those predictions have since come true. So far, the sunspot has fired off several flares, including a strong solar storm early Thursday, May 10."Solar activity has been at high levels for the past 24 hours with multiple M-class solar flares observed," stated an update Thursday from the Space Weather Prediction Center, a joint service of NOAA and the National Weather Service. Sunspot region AR 1476 was responsible for nearly all of the sun's storm activity, center offic...

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  2. NASA Launches Observatory to Study Sun

    A new NASA spacecraft aimed at studying the inner workings of our sun blasted off Thursday to begin a five-year mission to better understand the mysteries of Earth's...

  3. Sun Has Giant Supersonic Waves Bigger Than Earth

    Humongous waves of hot plasma roiling on the surface of the sun appear to be moving at speeds as high as 4.5 million miles per hour, a new study found. The waves are...

  4. Largest Sunspot in Years Observed on the Sun

    One of the largest sunspots in years has appeared on the sun, darkening part of its glowing face.The massive sunspot, called AR1339, is about 50,000 miles long, and ...

  5. Spotting Sun-Spots May Improve Solar Storm Warnings

    Scientists have found a way to spot active regions of the sun, below the solar surface, a full day or two before they erupt as sunspots on our nearest star, research...

  6. Strong solar flares still shooting out from active spot on sun

    The sun is continuing its active streak this week, firing off another solar flare late Thursday (March 8) from the same region that produced this week's strong solar...

  7. Huge Solar Explosions Can Rock the Entire Sun

    On August 1, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted.Violent explosions on the sun erupt on a phenomenal scale – one that envelopes the entire star – and are linked ...

  8. Sun Eruption Creates Spectacular Plasma Tentacle

    A NASA spacecraft watching the sun has caught a dazzling view of a solar eruption that launched a vast tendril of magnetic plasma into space.NASA's Solar Dynamics Ob...

  9. Sun Fades Away in Spectacular Eclipse Photo

    A powerful NASA solar observatory has snapped an amazing view of the sun, a photo that shows the star partially obscured by the Earth.The photo, obtained Tuesday by ...

  10. Mega Solar Flare Wreaks Havoc on Radio Communications

    A whopper of a solar flare that fired up earlier this week is wreaking havoc on some radio communications on Earth, and could spark exceptional auroras soon.The   cl...

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  1. Spacecraft Offers Deep Window Into Sun's Hellishly Hot Shell

    A NASA spacecraft is giving scientists great looks at parts of the sun's superhot atmosphere that had previously evaded detailed study.The outer layer of the sun's a...

  2. Spectacular solar flare erupts from the sun

    The sun erupted in an amazing solar flare today (April 16), unleashing an intense eruption of super-heated plasma that arced high above the star's surface before bla...

  3. Solar eruption mistaken for refueling UFO spaceship

    Telescope images captured of the sun on Monday, March 12, show what appears to be a planet-size shadowy object tethered to the sun by a dark filament. In the image s...

  4. Monster sunspot threatens to unleash powerful solar flares

    An enormous sunspot group has taken shape on the surface of the sun, hinting that our star may soon start spouting off some powerful storms.The huge sunspot complex,...

  5. NASA Releases First 360-Degree View of Entire Sun

    NASA has released the first 360-degree view of the entire sun today, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.The photo comes courtesy of NASA's twin STEREO ( Solar TErres...

  6. Vast solar tornado spied on the sun

    A tremendous tornado whirling across the surface of the sun was captured by a NASA satellite recently -- an amazing wonder of the solar system that may be as big as ...

  7. Massive solar flare headed toward Earth, may spark celestial light show

    A powerful flare erupted from the sun Thursday, Jan. 19, unleashing a plasma wave that may supercharge the northern lights for skywatchers in high latitudes this wee...

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