Sunspot – Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings

Sun Buddies

A chipping sparrow remained patiently at the feeder, most of the time just looking about, during the half hour I spent observing the sun yesterday morning. I liked to think that it was a little friend curiously watching, sharing the moment. Maybe not, but that’s what I chose to believe. At first I thought itContinue reading “Sun Buddies”

Cause and Effect

A giant sunspot flared several times recently and hurled bits of the sun towards earth. The rejected solar material burst into the earth’s magnetic field two days later to produce this spectacular light show that has been visible as far south as Florida, and even Puerto Rico! Per Eddie Irizarry of the Sociedad de AstronomiaContinue reading “Cause and Effect”

Sun Pox

The Sun goes through sunspot cycles about every 11 years. At minimum no spots at all can be seen most days, but now we are leading up to a maximum in the cycle, which will probably peak next year. Several large groups of spots, known as active regions, were visible, and this is normal forContinue reading “Sun Pox”

In Less Than a Week

***NERD ALERT!*** On November 30, 2022, it appeared that the Sun would be totally without spots for only the second time this year, since the only active region with spots was rapidly fading from view. The next day, however, two new spots appeared and in the following five days the sunspots went from nearly zeroContinue reading “In Less Than a Week”

Sun With a Flare

Sunspots with their magnetic fields are visible on the right of the photo with their NOAA numbers listed below the image. The spot near the center is larger than the Earth, and the bright area to the upper left of center (labeled 2996 plage) is a gigantic magnetic explosion that hurled high-energy x-rays and particlesContinue reading “Sun With a Flare”

Jet-Sun

I was getting close-up images of the Sun in red, hydrogen-alpha light, when this airplane crossed through the field of view. It makes me wonder of the people on the airplane at the time and how they would feel to know that from my perspective they had had a “moment in the Sun.” Also, happyContinue reading “Jet-Sun”

Point of View

On a cosmic scale Earth is next nothing, on a human scale it is everything. WARNING: Photo was taken with a telescope designed for solar observation with a safe solar filter in front of the main lens to protect against the intense solar light. Never look at the Sun directly without approved eye protection, andContinue reading “Point of View”