Huge Sunspot Aimed At Earth -- Eruption Imminent?

Huge Sunspot Aimed At Earth -- Eruption Imminent?: Ever wondered what the view would be like when looking down the barrel of a stellar gun? Look no further, this is it.

(Active Region 11476 appears just above the center of the disk in this white light image. Credit: NASA/SDO)
“As captured in breathtaking high-definition by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), an erupting active region has rotated into view and is currently facing us, dead-on. The active region in question, called AR11476, is huge. In fact, as cheerfully pointed out by the SDO’s little yellow chicken mascot Camilla, the sunspot complex underlying the active region is about the size of Jupiter! In the image shown above, we are looking at light generated by plasma (heated to approximately 6,000 Celsius/Kelvin) in the sun’s photosphere. The sunspots appear dark as the sun’s intense magnetic field is thrusting through the photosphere from the interior, pushing the hotter surface layers aside, exposing the cooler plasma below.”
“To make this active region even more dramatic, it has been crackling with intense magnetic activity, triggering a powerful M-class flare early on Thursday… And now, according to Spaceweather.com, NOAA space weather forecasters estimate a 75 percent chance of ...