LARGE SUNSPOT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27241, 18 November 1949, Page 6

LARGE SUNSPOT

CAN BE SEEN WITH NAKED

1 EYE PA WELLINGTON, Nov. 17. A large sunspot has been watched growing!! at an enormous rate by the Carter Observatory. First seen on Tuesday J the sunspot has in 45 hours grown to an area of 118,000,000 square miles—an area nearly as great as that of the earth’s surface. »

The director of the observatory, Mr I. L. Thomsen, announcing this today, sai<#> that, though it did not rank with gianj" sunspots, it was big enough to be €egn with the naked eye if the eye** was \ properly protected. He said it was not expected to grow much more. Already its diameter was 43,000 miles. | Mr Thapmsen said the sunspot was not expeqted to have any great effect on communications, since it was on the western side of the sun, which is turning a^vay. There yj-as a complete radio blackout of British radio programmes by the National Broadcasting Service at Wellington for about 20 minutes today. It began about 11.50 a.m. The Post and Telegraph Department’s services weri: similarly affected. The radio seen ion reported high atmospheric nO|ise, with fading of signals in the radio telephone and radio telegraph services from Australia and the Pacific Islands and the United States.