MDI Sunspot size winner -- Active region 10486 became the largest sunspot seen by SOHO, It unleashed a spectacular show on 28 October 2003. An X 17.2 flare, the second largest flare observed by SOHO and the third largest ever recorded, blasted off a strong high energy proton event and a fast-moving Coronal Mass Ejection. The spot occupied an area equal to about 15 Earths, a size not seen since 1989. It later fired off the largest X-ray flare recorded, on 4 November 2003.

EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) images the solar atmosphere at several wavelengths, and therefore, shows solar material at different temperatures. In the images taken at 171 Angstrom, at 1 million degrees Kelvin.