NASA Captures Largest Sunspot in Two Decades

Washington: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has spotted an image of a gigantic sunspot - the largest in last 24 years.

The flare erupted from a particularly large active region dubbed as AR 12192.

The sunspot soon grew to be the largest active region observed in the current solar cycle - a periodic change in the Sun's activity and appearance - which began in 2008.

This is the fourth substantial X-class flare from this active region since October 19.

X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground.

These can also disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

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NASA Captures Largest Sunspot in Two Decades

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