Astronomy Picture of the Day

At the Sun's Edge
Credit & Copyright: Catalin Beldea (Descopera Magazine)

Explanation: A train trip on the Trans-Siberian railway to Novosibirsk resulted in this stunning view along the edge of the Sun recorded during the August 1st total solar eclipse. The picture is a composite of two images taken at special moments in the eclipse sequence, corresponding to the very beginning and the very end of the total eclipse phase. Those times are known to eclipse chasers as 2nd and 3rd contact. Bright beads around the Moon's dark silhouette are rays of sunlight shining through lunar valleys at the edge of the lunar disk. But the composite view also captures solar prominences, looping structures of hot plasma suspended in magnetic fields, extending beyond the Sun's edge.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

A Sunspot in the New Solar Cycle

Credit & Copyright: Greg Piepol

Explanation: A new cycle has begun on our Sun. Over the past year, the Sun's magnetic field11 year period is beginning. Pictured above in a specific color of light emitted by hydrogen is sunspot 10982, one of the first sunspots of the new solar cycle. The two dark lines visible just above and to either side of the bright sunspot are cool filaments held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. Hot and cold regions are shown as regions of relative light and dark, respectively. A solar cycle is caused by the changing magnetic field, and varies from solar maximum, when sunspot, coronal mass ejection, and flare phenomena are most frequent, to solar minimum, when such activity is relatively infrequent. Solar minimums occurred in 1996 and 2007, while the last solar maximum occurred in 2001. Of course, tomorrow's annular solar eclipse is mostly for penguins. has reset and now a new

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