Author Topic: A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope  (Read 183 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline rangerrebew

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 164,233
A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope
It's four times the size of the Earth.
James Felton
JAMES FELTON




Senior Staff Writer

clock
Published
May 25, 2023
 
The Sun, with several sunspots crossing it.
Sunspot AR3310, bottom right, should be visible without magnification.

Image credit: NASA Solar Observatory

A sunspot four times the size of the Earth is making its way across the Sun at the moment. The spot is so large you can see it without a telescope, though of course you should use protective equipment.

Sunspot AR3310 should be visible to you using solar viewing glasses, those cool disposable shades you foolhardily threw away after the last eclipse. Sunspots are areas of the Sun that appear darker due to a slightly lower temperature.

"Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth's, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun," the National Weather Service explains. "Because of the strong magnetic field, the magnetic pressure increases while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.  This in turn lowers the temperature relative to its surroundings because the concentrated magnetic field inhibits the flow of hot, new gas from the Sun's interior to the surface. "

Sun activity increases and decreases in a 11-year cycle known as the Schwabe cycle. From 1826 to 1843, German amateur astronomer Heinrich Schwabe observed the Sun, discovering that it rotates on its axis once every 27 days. He noticed the Sun goes from quiet periods, where no sunspots can be seen, to the maximum phase where 20 or more groups of sunspots can be seen.

 https://www.iflscience.com/a-sunspot-is-so-large-right-now-you-can-see-it-without-a-telescope-69096
Would you be willing to fight and die for multiculturalism?  Would you put your life on the line for “Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity” (DIE); “Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance” (ESG); or other Marxist worldviews?  Would you go to war to preserve the right of delusional men to use women’s restrooms and dominate women’s sports?  Would you fight for any government that hunts down and imprisons J6 protesters as political hostages but celebrates Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters who cause physical injury and property damage?

J.B. Shurk

Offline rangerrebew

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 164,233
Re: A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2023, 11:42:02 am »
Global warming most assuredly caused it to be that large! :whistle:
Would you be willing to fight and die for multiculturalism?  Would you put your life on the line for “Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity” (DIE); “Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance” (ESG); or other Marxist worldviews?  Would you go to war to preserve the right of delusional men to use women’s restrooms and dominate women’s sports?  Would you fight for any government that hunts down and imprisons J6 protesters as political hostages but celebrates Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters who cause physical injury and property damage?

J.B. Shurk

Online Gefn

  • "And though she be but little she is fierce"-Shakespeare
  • Cat Mod
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,190
  • Gender: Female
  • Quos Deus Vult Perdere Prius Dementat
Re: A Sunspot Is So Large Right Now You Can See It Without A Telescope
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2023, 01:10:46 pm »
Bookmark
G-d bless America. G-d bless us all                                 

Adopt a puppy or kitty from your local shelter
Or an older dog or cat. They're true love❤️