Comments on: No words

By: Lenny V

Lenny V — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:31:01 +0000

It has eyes!

…And they’re watching us…

By: Matt B.

Matt B. — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:13:17 +0000

I love this. I’ve learned enough from this blog to recognize instantly that the sun’s rotational pole is tilted about 60 degrees clockwise in this photo.

By: josie

josie — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:54:58 +0000

I love staring at the sun.

By: ERic

ERic — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:42:27 +0000

Did you mean ‘soul-stirring’, or ‘sol-stirring’?;)

By: Wzrd1

Wzrd1 — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:31:12 +0000

@5, Rachel, it IS plasma following magnetic field lines.
The sun is a set of massive dynamos that generate incredibly strong magnetic fields. Those dynamos are caused by “rivers” of plasma far below the “surface” and convection cells that distort them. That causes the magnetic fields to go from moderately tangled to unbelievably tangled.
It’s those tangles that we see as prominences and other features that give us such beautiful sights.
When those tangles “short out”, they have a part of those field lines disconnect, which gives us flares and CME’s (Coronal Mass Ejection).
There are magnetic field models of the sun, including the dynamos. To call it complex is to make a massive understatement!
But then, the complexities of nature are CRAZY cool! Even when that cool is hot plasma.

By: John

John — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:16:00 +0000

Can you take a holiday from the sun pictures? It’s hotter than a [expletive deleted] today!

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:47:24 +0000

Looks like a pot of oatmeal with clumps of hair floating in it.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:21:23 +0000

#5: Rachel,

They probably are magnetic field lines. Sunspots are regions of intense magnetic fields and it’s the magnetic fields that are disrupting the convection of the Sun which makes them cooler. It’s probably the charged plasma following the magnetic field lines. Sunspots do have a magnetic north and south polarity, although you usually don’t see them as two distinct spots. SOHO and SDO satellites have images that show the magnetic polarity.

By: beezelBug

beezelBug — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:49:19 +0000

An absolutely stunning picture now my desktop background.
Like this the sun looks “furry”, makes you want to stroke it.

More pareidolia there are 3 fingers at location 1300 x 907 looks like someone is sinking

By: Rachel Walmsley

Rachel Walmsley — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:26:04 +0000

Of the prominent dark areas, the one on the bottom left is really interesting. Zoom into the high-res version, and it looks for all the world like magnetic force lines around a bar magnet. Would love to know precisely what’s going on there.