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Credit & Copyright: Alan Friedman
(Averted Imagination)
Explanation:
Why is the Sun so quiet?
As the Sun enters into a period of time known as a
Solar Minimum, it is, as expected, showing fewer
sunspots and
active regions than usual.
The quietness is somewhat unsettling, though, as so far this year, most days show no sunspots
at all.
In contrast, from 2011 - 2015, during
Solar Maximum,
the Sun displayed spots just about every day.
Maxima and minima occur on an
11-year cycle, with the
last
Solar Minimum
being the most quiet in a century.
Will this current Solar Minimum
go
even deeper?
Even though the
Sun's activity affects the Earth and its surroundings,
no one knows for sure
what
the Sun will do next,
and the physics behind the processes remain an
active topic of research.
The
featured image was taken
three weeks ago and shows that our Sun is busy even on a quiet day.
Prominences of hot
plasma,
some larger than the Earth,
dance continually and are most easily visible over the edge.
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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 - prominence
Publications with words: Sun - 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