What's up in space? Shape-Shifting Sunspot & Strong Flare (Video)

Geomagnetic Storm: High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. A polar geomagnetic storm (magnitude Kp=5) is underway in response to solar wind buffeting Earth's magnetic field.

What lies inside Jupiter? The clouds of Jupiter hide many mysteries--from the roots of monster storms to possible stores of exotic matter. NASA's Juno spacecraft, scheduled to launch on August 5th, is going to find out what lies inside the giant planet. [full story] [video]

Strong Flare: Sunspot AR1261 unleashed a brief but strong M9-class solar flare on July 30th at 0209 UT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the flare's extreme ultraviolet flash:

Because of its brevity, the eruption did not hurl a substantial cloud of material toward Earth. No CME is visible in SOHO coronagraphs. The eruption was not geoeffective, although future eruptions could be as the active region continues to turn toward Earth. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

Shape-Shifting Sunspot: Three big sunspot groups are rotating across the Earth-facing side of the sun. One of them, AR1261, is morphing into a circular ring. Click on the image to view a 24-hour movie:

The magnetic field of this shape-shifting sunspot is crackling with C- and M-classsolar flares, including a powerful M9-blast to begin the day on July 30th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of more such flares during the next 24 hours. Readers with solar telescopes are encouraged to monitor developments.

Provided by Space Weather News