Solar Activity Update: Sunspot AR1654

  Sunspot AR1654 is still trucking along the Sun's surface. It has grown stronger, and now harbors energy that can produce X class solar flares. Because the giant sunspot is now facing toward Earth, and explosions that occur in the near future will be directed our way. Now is a great time to observe and image AR1654, as well as the nearby sunspot AR1656. Another sunspot, AR1658 is further south and west, and along with the other two mark the most noticeable features on the solar disk at this time.

 Here is an image of AR1654 that I took a few days ago. I recorded an AVI using a Celestron NexImage 5 and stacked a few frames in Registax to get this final product:

  If you are interested in solar activity, visit the website www.spaceweather.com. Here you can find the latest information on current space weather conditions, aurora maps and a high resolution image of the Sun that is updated daily.