Welcome to a new series of posts that will characterize 1000 amazing facts about the Universe. There is so much out there that we have yet to learn, and every day, astronomers across the globe are using their research to reveal the deepest secrets of the cosmos. This series will look at the strangest, coolest, most exciting facts that we have discovered in hundreds of years of modern science. Fact #5:When you see an aurora in the sky, it is a sign that you are being protected by the Earth and not being blasted with solar radiation. The Sun; A...
I’ve seen images from the Sun in all different wavelengths of light. It looks very different across the electromagnetic spectrum, with some wavelengths making up more of the Sun’s total energy output than others. What’s always striking to me is seeing the images of the Sun that show its structure, including the strange and beautiful features of plasma that dance across it’s surface. A recent APOD captures just such a concept. This image shows the Sun in Hydrogen Alpha, a wavelength of light at 656 nanometres. This is from the ionization of Hydrogen, where the electron is excited and transitions...
The Sun, stars, nebulae, galaxies, planets; We can see them all from our lonely cosmic address, but not all is revealed in the light our eyes see. We need to look at the entire electromagnetic spectrum to understand the range of objects we see in the universe. Our closest star shows us how different it can look when you change the observed wavelength. In high energy ultraviolet and X-ray light we can see the most powerful sunspots emitting their bursts of radiation and the swirls of solar plasma releasing ultraviolet energy in all directions. We still have a few years...
It’s not fuzzy caterpillars or any small creatures interacting in a Petri dish. The strange growing and twisting creatures are not creatures at all. Today’s NASA APOD shows a time lapse view of a cluster of sunspots as they pass along the surface of the Sun during its rotation. The total time is about 12 hours for the sunspots to cross the solar surface, yet the video is shortened to a quick minute and a half. The amazing thing to notice is the amazing dance of the sunspots as they shift, twist, merge, separate, and interact with the granular convection cells...
Solar Flares happen, especially during the current peak of solar activity. Here’s a cool video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
The two major solar observatories, SDO and SOHO, both saw a massive solar event in exceptional clarity. Starting April 28th, a huge solar plasma loop broke away and was blasted millions of miles out into space from the surface of the Sun! This massive outburst of energy comes during the peak of the 11-year solar activity cycle, and shows us just how incredible and energetic our home star can be. Solar filaments like the one that broke away are long chains of solar plasma, a state of matter where super-heated gas becomes stripped of its electrons. The plasma filaments follow...
The sun is definitely hitting its usual ‘rebellious’ phase on its 11 year sunspot cycle, where it flares up at literally everything. The biggest sunspot observed in 24 years has been releasing huge amounts of energy, in the form of X-class solar flares. In the past week this sunspot, designated AR 12192, has released 3 X-class flares, including a huge X-3.1 on Friday. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has been watching the light show. Okay so the Sun is blowing up, what does all this mean? Let’s start with Sunspots. A sunspot is a place on the sun where there...
