Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A big sunspot is comin' round the Sun! Active Region 12786 is a big area of magnetic activity that was predicted to exist by scientists even when it was on the other side of the Sun. On 23 November 2020 it appeared on the Sun's western side, rotating into view. This movie represents 3 days of ultraviolet (1700 Angstrom) observations by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Active Region 12783 is the spot you can see at the beginning, then 12785 rolls into view, and then the much larger 12786. The big spot is roughly 50,000 kilometers wide — nearly four times biggger than the Earth!
Credit: NASA / SDO / Helioviewer.org
A big sunspot is comin' round the Sun! Active Region 12786 is a big area of magnetic activity that was predicted to exist by scientists even when it was on the other side of the Sun. On 23 November 2020 it appeared on the Sun's western side, rotating into view. This movie represents 3 days of ultraviolet (1700 Angstrom) observations by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Active Region 12783 is the spot you can see at the beginning, then 12785 rolls into view, and then the much larger 12786. The big spot is roughly 50,000 kilometers wide — nearly four times biggger than the Earth!
Credit: NASA / SDO / Helioviewer.org
