... The Russian TESIS/ CORONAS-PHOTON Solar Observatory, which has been working in orbit since January 30th, 2009, has photographed one of the most important events in the build up to the upcoming solar cycle - the formation of our star's new southern belt of activity. The first magnetic fields of the new cycle in the southern hemisphere appeared on the Sun's surface on May 23-24th. ... The belt of activity is one of the primary concepts, characterizing the solar cycle. ...

... Bad Astronomy . ... Bitesize Astronomy . ... Last week's Snack talked about how black holes can affect the environment around them in such a way as to be very bright . ... It's a common misconception that black holes always have matter swirling into them. ... As this matter gets closer and closer to the black hole it piles up and a large, fairly flat disk forms. This is called the accretion disk , because matter from this disk accretes (that is, falls in) on the black hole. ... 2008 Phil Plait. ...

The Sun is our nearest star and the source of energy for life on Earth. ... For centuries astronomers wondered whether they were clouds floating in the Sun's atmosphere, but we now know that they really are huge regions of magnetic field, about as intense as the field at the poles of an iron magnet. ... Such abrupt events were named solar flares , and what made them especially interesting was that occasionally, after a prominent flare, a magnetic storm would erupt on Earth. ...

... GLAST Gamma Ray Sky Simulation . ... This simulated image models the intensities of gamma rays with over 40 million times the energy of visible light, and represents how the sky might appear to the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) after its first year in orbit. ... AR9077: Solar Magnetic Arcade . ... M19 appears to be a typical globular cluster of stars - except for its shape. ... Star Trails in Southern Skies . ... As the Earth spins on its axis, the stars seem to rotate around us. ...

... The TRACE images may be used without restrictions in publications of any kind. ... These two images, taken on 18 November 2000 at 15:54UT and 16:11UT, respectively, show such an event: the red circle in the image to the left shows a region where many loops are cooling, with bright loop tops (the intensity scales with the square root of the image to reduce the dynamic range). ... See also a collection of images related to the Sun, other cool stars, and solar-terrestrial effects . ... Images | ...

... February 5, 1997 . Running Red Rings Around Jupiter . ... Explanation : Jupiter has rings, too. Unlike Saturn's bright rings which are composed of chunks of ice, Jupiter's rings are darker and appear to consist of fine particles of rock. ... Quite visible are Jupiter's rings , bands and spots in the outer atmosphere . ... The origin of Jupiter's rings remains unknown , although hypothesized to be created by material scattered from meteorite impacts onto Jupiter's moons . ... About APOD > . ...

We present new images of the reflection nebula surrounding the R Coronae Borealis Star, UW Centauri. ... Instead, the morphology of the nebula appears to change as different parts are illuminated by light from the central star that is modulated by shifting thick dust clouds near its surface. ... In this way, the central star acts like a lighthouse shining through holes in the dust clouds and lighting up different portions of the nebula. ... ADS Citation Query . citations = 21 . ...

... Data Reduction FAQ > The reduced science spectrum displayed in the Reflex window appears good but when I try to plot it, it is quite different. How can I get it? ... Observing with ESO Telescopes . ... ESO-MIDAS . ... Reflex . ... ESO Data . ... ESO HST Image Galleries . ... ESO Data Access Policy . ... ESO Science Newsletter . ... ESO Annual Reports . ... Seminars at ESO Santiago . ... Seminars at ESO Garching . ... ESO Telescope Bibliography . ... Last Update: 01.04.14 ESO . ...

... Energy . ... Solar Wind . ... Field . ... The Sun is our nearest star and the source of energy for life on Earth. ... For centuries astronomers wondered whether they were clouds floating in the Sun's atmosphere, but we now know that they really are huge regions of magnetic