Aurora Generator: Active Solar Region AR 3664 at Sunset in Rome, Italy

Aurora Generator: Active Solar Region AR 3664 at Sunset in Rome, Italy

A distant Sun is seen over water and between foreground trees. On the lower part of the setting Sun is the gigantic active region AR 3664 visible by its dark sunspots a few days ago from Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy. Active region AR 3664 is larger than the Earth. It is so big you could actually see it on the Sun's surface without magnification. It contains powerful and tangled magnetic fields, as well as numerous dark sunspots. Labelled AR 3664, it developed into one of the most energetic areas seen on the Sun in recent years, unleashing a series of explosions that led to a surge of energetic particles striking the Earth. This created beautiful auroras. It may continue. 

The Sun rotates (once every 27 days). AR 3664 is now rotating away from the Earth, although the region may survive long enough to come around again. Active regions on the Sun, like AR 3664, can be quite dangerous. However, this region's coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have not created, as of yet, much damage to Earth-orbiting satellites or to electrical grids on the Earth's surface.  

This composite image includes a very short exposure taken of just the Sun's surface. It mimics what was actually visible. 

Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Meniero

Marco's website: https://www.meniero.it

Release Date: May 13, 2024

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