Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years
Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years (Photos) by Tariq Malik , SPACE.com Managing Editor | October 25, 2014 06:37am ET The biggest sunspot on the face of the sun in more than two decades unleashed a major flare on Friday (Oct. 24), the fourth intense solar storm from the active star in less than a week. This full-disk image of the sun shows the location of the major X3.1 solar flare (lower right) on Oct. 24, 2014. The solar flare erupted from the largest sunspot on the sun in 24 years. Credit: NASA/SDO View full size image The solar flare occurred Friday afternoon, reaching its peak at 5:41 p.m. EDT (2141 GMT), and triggered a strong radio blackout at the time, according to the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center. NASA's sun-watching Solar Dynamics Observatory captured stunning video of the huge solar flare . The flare erupted from a giant active sunspot known as AR 12192 and was classified as an X3.1-class solar storm — one of the mos...