Giant sunspot points toward Earth; 'No need to panic,' experts say - USA TODAY

A PLANET-SIZE SUNSPOT IS POINTED TOWARD EARTH: What happens if there are solar flares.

The larger and more complex a sunspot becomes, the higher the likelihood is for solar flares, Steenburgh said.

Young said the sunspot is producing small solar flares but "does not have the complexity for the largest flares." There is a 30% chance the sunspot will produce medium-sized flares and a 10% chance it will create large flares, he said.

Dean Pesnell, project scientist of the Solar Dynamics Observatory, said the sunspot is a "modest-sized active region" that "has not grown abnormally rapidly and is still somewhat small in area.".

"AR 3038 is exactly the kind of active region we expect at this point in the solar cycle," he said.

In a single solar cycle, about 11 years, there are typically about 2,000 M1 flares, about 175 X1 flares and about eight X10 flares, he said.

The AR3038 sunspot has caused C flares, Steenburgh said

Although there have been no M or X flares from this area, he said there is a potential for more intense flares in the next week or so