Monday marked a celebratory event: the first sunspots of 2013! Found in the active region AR1748, four sunspots surged within the span of under 48 hours, (going clockwise from the left, the four were documented in extreme ultraviolet, captured at the Solar Dynamics Observatory). Sunspots are ranked by peak brightness in the X-Ray spectrum, with X-class flares typically acting as a prelude to a coronal mass ejection. Three of the four did reach this point, but were not aimed at Earth; the fourth might just braze Earth's magnetic field and disrupt a few radio broadcasts. But this region isn't done yet, likely having a few more flares up its sleeve for later in the year.
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