This group of sunspots, consisting of three separate groups numbered 4294, 4296, and 4298, continues to set records for its size. Scientists reported that its total area in the morning was 2200 units. For comparison, in 2003, the group of spots numbered 486, which caused a series of the most powerful flares of the century, had an area only 400 units larger — 2600.
In particular, the central group of the complex (No. 4294) was recorded with an area of 1450 units, making it the second largest individual group observed on the Sun since 2015. A larger active region, number 3664, was noted only once during this period, in May 2024, and it led to the strongest magnetic storm in the last two decades, according to information from astronomers at the Solar Astronomy Laboratory.
