Rotating sunspots spin up a super solar flare
Thursday, April 21, 2011 - 14:30
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- The largest solar flare recorded in nearly five years was triggered by interactions between five rotating sunspots. Researchers at the University of Central Lancashire studied observations of the flaring region of the Sun taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory over a period of five days. Dr. Daniel Brown presented the findings at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales, on Wednesday 20th April 2011.