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Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman
(Averted Imagination)
Explanation:
Even a quiet Sun can be a busy place.
And over the deep
Solar Minimum
of the past few years, our Sun has been
unusually quiet.
The above image, taken last week in a
single color of light called
Hydrogen Alpha and then
false colored, records a great amount of detail of the simmering surface of
our parent star.
The gradual brightening towards the Sun's edge in this color-inverted image, called
limb darkening, is caused by increased absorption of
relatively cool solar gas.
Just over the Sun's edges, several
prominences are visible,
while two prominences on the Sun's face are
seen as light streaks just above and right of the image center.
Two particularly active areas
of the Sun are marked by dark
plages.
In contrast to recent
quiet times,
our Sun is moving toward Solar Maximum, and
for years will likely
appear
much
more
active.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - solar activity - H-alpha - prominence
Publications with words: Sun - solar activity - H-alpha - prominence
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 28 Á Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns
- APOD: 2024 May 26 Á A Solar Filament Erupts