8,000

It’s really not much to look at, just a little round ball with a few scattered spots. But looks can be deceiving, this “little” round ball is actually 835,000 miles in diameter and the larger spots are nearly as large as the Earth. However, this image means a lot to me since, if I have counted right, it is my 8,000th solar image since I started observing the Sun in 2003.

The photos have been sent to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), and more recently to the website: Spaceweather.com by Dr Tony Phillips. Over the years my photos have appeared in Sky and Telescope magazine, in the Strolling Astronomer (ALPO Journal), and even on the National Geographic website in 2011. I have also won awards at Florida’s Winter Star Party, and was given ALPO’s Walter H. Haas Observer’s Award in 2020.

Though I am honored to have received recognition for my observations, that’t not why I do this. It is the amazing Sun, our own star, so close, so beautiful, and so vital to our existence that keeps me coming back for more. Having been able to reach the 8,000 mark really means a lot to me and I look forward to many more. A friend recently suggested throwing a party when I hit the 10,000 mark, maybe I should.

#sun #associationoflunarandplanetaryobservers #spaceweather #nationalgeographic