master_q 0 Posted February 28, 2004 Sunspot Grows to Eight Times Width of Earth A fresh spot on the Sun has grown from nothing a few days ago to a complex that was eight times wider than Earth as of Wednesday. Sunspot No. 564 packs energy that could generate moderate solar flares, but so far it does not appear to be a threat for major flares. Sunspots are darker, cooler regions of pent-up magnetic energy on the Sun. Somewhat like tops on a shaken soda bottle, they sometimes release in spectacular fashion, spewing streams of charged particles into space. These storms sometimes threaten Earth-orbiting satellites and even power grids on the surface. Click for Spoiler: To talk about this & more head over to the science forum Master Q StarTrek_Master_Q@yahoo.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites