A new sunspot (AR2824) appears on the northeast limb of the Sun, accompanied by C-class flares. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded this C1.1 flare today, May 18.
The explosion ejected a plume of plasma from the surface of the Sun, but not all of this plasma flew into space. Most of the ejected material fell back to the surface of the Sun.
Stronger flares may be in the near future. This is a relatively large sunspot with the potential for explosive magnetic mixing around its Neptune-sized dark core. Very soon, sunspot AR2824 will rotate toward Earth.
