AS OF 8~31~11
EMERGING SUNSPOTS: Sunspots are emerging at several locations around the solar disk, peppering the Earth-side of the sun with active regions. Of particular interest is fast-growing sunspot 1282, shown here in an August 31st snapshot from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
AR1282 has increased in size more than ten-fold during the past 48 hours: movie. Moreover, the sunspot is near the center of the solar disk, so any flares from this active region today would likely be Earth-directed.
