Sunspots and the Active Sun:
Maybe some of you have seen these wonderful aurora displays at night, others may have noticed increased radio interference
or communication disruptions on your cellular phone. Maybe some of you have been interested in the sun for other reasons, but
for now, the sun is in its high active period, with large sunspots, giant flares, and increased solar wind. It also affects our weather,
to what extent, scientists are not too certain.
The sun goes through an 11-year period of high activity,
with giant sunspots, sunspot groups, and large flares that sometimes produce increased energetic particles, causing spectacular aurora displays.
Then, the sun goes to a low period of few sunspots and flares. We are now in a solar maximum period.
The sunspots, which are caused by the sun's strong magnetic field, are regions where the surface temperature is cooler than
the normal surface of the sun, and so they look dark. Sometimes these regions can get as large as 10 times the size of the earth. If
you are interested, go to this site, http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010411.html
to see images of one of the largest sunspot groups in the past 11 years.
If you are interested in viewing the current images of the sun in a variety of wavelengths go to http://umbra.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/latest.html.
Finally if you want to view the sun in your back yard with a small telescope or binoculars,
contact me at Canterna@uwyo.edu and we will discuss your observations and its safety.
You can get more details on the evening skies and a monthly star chart via the Wyoming Skies: Sky Charts For more information, send questions and comments by e-mail to: Dr. Ron Canterna (canterna@uwyo.edu).
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