Returning Sunspots

[Whitters]

Space Weather News for Nov. 14, 2003
http://spaceweather.com

Using a technique called helioseismic holography, astronomers can do
something amazing: look through the sun to find sunspots on the far side
of our star. On Nov. 11th and 12th their holographic maps revealed giant
sunspots 486 and 488--the same active regions that caused so much intense
space weather a few weeks ago.

These spots are still active. Explosions from their vicinity have been
hurling clouds of gas over the sun's limb in recent days. The sun's 27-day
rotation will soon carry the pair around to the Earth-facing side of the
sun. More solar storms are possible when they reappear on or about Nov.
19th.

Meanwhile, another one of last month's giant sunspots has already
reappeared. Active region 484 is peeking over the sun's eastern limb. The
sunspot looks smaller than it did in late October, but it too remains
active--hurling a bright coronal mass ejection into space on Nov. 13th.

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