Contains:  Solar system body or event
Animation of Solar Activity from  2023-6-08, DWS 23

Animation of Solar Activity from 2023-6-08

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
Animation of Solar Activity from  2023-6-08, DWS 23

Animation of Solar Activity from 2023-6-08

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

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Description

In this animation you can see two very nice sunspots, AR3331 and the small companion, small being relative. There is nice prominence activity and the exposure lasted from 13:02 to 13:56 with 18 frames taken. During this time it is interesting to note the rotation of the sun. 

For a more detailed explanation about the physics of the activity, I would like to hand that over to my dear friend Andrew Rosado, who is pursuing his PhD in Astro-Physics. He knows way more about the dynamics of what is going on and I hope you find his description interesting and educational. I know I will!

From Andrew:
I’ve taken many opportunities to go over solar prominences and their formation, for more information refer to a previous post. However, of major interest here is sunspots, a topic I have not touched upon much. A sun spot is an incredibly large, dark and typically planet sized region of powerful magnetic fields. Similar to a prominence, the color variation is a result of the strong magnetic fields insulating the ionized plasma, this creates a large thermal gradient. This culminates into a distinct optical densities that create distinct structure and perceived color difference in the form of contrast. Unique to sunspots is the overwhelming power of their magnetic fields. These particular formations have magnetic fields so strong it results in retention of the heat within the convection zone. As you can imagine, these powerful magnetic influences can result in rather extreme solar events, often CMEs. If these fields cross, tangle or otherwise distort. A massive explosion of energy can be released, bringing with it intense amounts of radiation. These events, if they strike Earth, can cause major interference with radio communications.

If you’re interested in a bit more about me and the telescope, feel free to watch a presentation that I gave to The Astro Imaging Channel (awesome site) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm5boF-5hpc&t=3370s

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