Islands in the Photosphere
Sunspots are planet-sized islands in the solar photosphere, the bright surface of the Sun, and dark because they are slightly cooler than the surrounding surface. The field of view of the image spans nearly 100,000 miles, captured in a close-up telescopic snapshot from July 11. © Alan Friedman/ avertedimagination.
Sunspots and Silhouettes
In the foreground of this stunning image, is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, built in the late 1800s and located on the highest hill in Paris, France. Next, are thin clouds forward scattering sunlight. Finally, far in the distance and slightly buried into the Sun’s surface, are sunspots, the most prominent of which is sunspot region AR 1512 visible near the disk center. Image credit: VegaStar Carpentier
Venus transit with H-alpha filter
There have been only eight transits of Venus since the invention of the telescope in 1608. This transit lasted for 6 hours and 40 minutes. The next will be in December of 2117. Image credit: Chris Hetlage
Sun eclipse and observers
During the May 2012 annular eclipse there was a group of astronomers and park rangers, observing the event from the Wahweap Lookout near Lake Powell, AZ. Visible on the solar disk are a few sunspots. Photographer: Steven Gilbert
How big are Sunspots
A Sunspot is really, really big. In the image above you can see sunspot regions in comparison with the sizes of Earth and Jupiter. Image credit: NASA/SDO and the Carnegie Institution
The sunspot sourcery
Sunspots, which are cooler, darker areas of intense magnetic activity, are most often the source of solar storms. If we take the observations of the Sun’s lower atmosphere in extreme ultraviolet light (July 17-18, 2011), then digitally peer down through the atmosphere to video of the surface seen in filtered light, we can see the correlation of the sunspots to the brighter active regions above the surface.
Color of the setting Sun
The sequence above shows the setting Sun dipping toward the western horizon as observed from Veszprem, Hungary. As the Sun sinks lower, its color becomes more reddened because the path length of sunlight is increasing.
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Giant Solar blast erupted sending jets of charged particles at Earth
The biggest solar blast in four years erupted late Monday, and it’s sending jets of charged particles right at Earth. The spray will spark bright auroras when it hits the magnetosphere in the next 24 to 48 hours.
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