The sudden emergence of big sunspot 1045 over the weekend has caused a sharp upsurge in solar activity.

The active region has produced three M-class and almost a dozen C-class solar flares since it appeared on Saturday (Feb. 6th).

The strongest blast, an M6-class eruption on Feb. 7th, may have hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras in the nights ahead as a result of this activity. Also, ham radio operators are picking up strong solar radio bursts using shortwave receivers.

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Filed under: Astronomy News • The Sun