Sunspot 1283 Bristling With Flares

A third solar flare and coronal mass ejection has erupted from sunspot 1283. The third came on September 7 at 6:36 PM ET, and was categorized as an X1.8 by the GOES spacecraft, making it the second X-class flare within 24 hours, the prior being an X2.1 on Sept. 6, 2001 at 6:20 PM ET.

Pictured here, leaping off the sun to the right is a giant plume of solar material – ionized gas called plasma – from sunspot 1283. This sunspot ejected three solar flares and three coronal mass ejections from September 5 to September 7, 2011. The picture here, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows light with a wavelength of 335 Angstroms. Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA

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