AR3006 WITH CHAOTIC MAGNETIC FIELD Sunspot AR3006 is in the midst of an identity crisis. It should actually have a +/- magnetic field, which it's on most of the time, but deep inside the sunspot's primary core, the polarity is opposite: -/+. Note the circled region in this magnetic map of the sunspot from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The mix of magnetic polarities makes this sunspot highly dangerous. When opposite polarities collide, it can ignite the fuse of magnetic reconnection - the most explosive trigger of solar flares, and I've just verified that AR3006 is facing Earth directly - so it's going to be an X-class full hit.