"There's a little black spot on the Sun Today" da da .. da da da da

ACTIVE SUNSPOT TURNS TOWARD EARTH: Big sunspot AR1967 near the sun's southeastern limb is crackling with solar flares. As Jan. 29th unfolds it is producing an average of one impulsive M-class explosion every two hours. Sam Freeland of the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab produced this "interest-compressed" 12.5 hour movie of the active region:

So far, none of the explosions has been Earth-directed, but future flares will be as the sunspot continues its slow turn toward our planet. NOAA forecasters have doubled the odds of an X-class flare in the next 24 hours to 10%. Meanwhile, M-class flares seem almost certain as the crackling continues. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

The primary dark core of AR1967 is twice as wide as Earth. This makes it an easy target for small telescopes equipped with solar filters. This morning at the Langkawi National Observatory in Malaysia, astronomer Karzaman Ahmad photographed the sunspot using an 11-inch Celestron:

"I wanted to take a closer look at the monster numbered AR1967," says Ahmad. "It is impressive."

For more impressive shots of the monster, browse the gallery: