When Sunspots Collide
A powerful solar flare (the bright area in the bottom half of this image) erupted when two sunspots collided in December. A Japanese spacecraft, Hinode, snapped the image as part of its round-the-clock coverage of the Sun. Sunspots are magnetic storms on the Sun's surface. When two of them collide, they create "short circuits" in the Sun's magnetic field, triggering the intense explosions of radiation and charged particles known as solar flares. Sunspots typically are larger than Earth. [Hinode JAXA/NASA]
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