Giant Sunspot Seen Through Dusty Skies
Sunspot region 1429 photographed from New Mexico. © David Tremblay.
[/caption]
The enormous sunspot region responsible for all the recent fuss and flares was easily visible from Earth yesterday… easily visible, that is, with the help of a natural filter provided by a New Mexico dust storm!
Photographer David Tremblay captured this image on March 7 through the dust-laden sky of Alto, New Mexico. Active Region 1429 can be seen on the upper right side of the Sun’s disk. Many times the size of Earth, this sunspot region has already erupted with several X-class solar flares and sent numerous CMEs our way — with potential for more to come!
“Blowing dust from the Tularosa Basin is so very dense that observing the sun was possible with the naked eye this evening,” noted David on SpaceWeather.com, where you can see more of his solar photos taken about the same time.
The image above was captured at 560mm with a Canon MKlll ESO1D.
View more of David’s photography here.
Image © David Tremblay. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Recent Posts
The First Close-Up Picture of Star Outside the Milky Way
Like a performer preparing for their big finale, a distant star is shedding its outer…
Here’s What We Know About Earth’s Temporary Mini-Moon
For a little over a month now, the Earth has been joined by a new…
New Study Suggests Black Holes Get their “Hair” from their Mothers
Despite decades of study, black holes are still one of the most puzzling objects in…
Gaze at New Pictures of the Sun from Solar Orbiter
74 million kilometres is a huge distance from which to observe something. But 74 million…
Are Fast Radio Bursts Caused by Interstellar Objects Crashing Into Neutron Stars?
Astronomers have only been aware of fast radio bursts for about two decades. These are…
Here’s How to Weigh Gigantic Filaments of Dark Matter
How do you weigh one of the largest objects in the entire universe? Very carefully,…