If you didn’tdonateyour occultation glasses already , hold onto them for a slight bite longer . Despite the name , the glasses can be used to look at the Sun anytime , and decently now , you’re able to expend them to see some moderately amazing sunspot .
As Bob King of the astronomy blogAstro Bobwrites , " Two large sunspot groups , area 2673 and 2674 , have made a beautiful muss of the Sun ’s otherwise liquid skin color . " The latter has become one of the magnanimous sunspots of the year .
sunspot are region of acute magnetic fields that appear dark against the surface of the Sun because they ’re cooler than the area around them . Their presence is yoke to blank space weather events likesolar flaresandcoronal mass ejections . Their number waxes and ebb in roughly 11 - twelvemonth periods , and as astronomerPhil Plaittells Mental Floss,“we’re slide into the minimum now . " But that does n’t mean there are no sunspots . The foresightful full stop of time the Sun has gone without observable sunspots in the preceding few years was15 daysin March 2017 .
This NASA video below demonstrate the cause of a sunspot in July . That onewas about 78,000 miles across — nearly 10 time thesize ofEarth .
Since sunspot sighting are on the downswing for now , this in style appearance is a salutary grounds to get alfresco and stare at the Sun — with a few guard measures , of course . " These beauties just show up a few days ago , " Plait says . " Sunspots big enough to see with the raw middle are rarified , but these are big enough to spot with right protection . "
Hopefully you did n’t toss your eclipse chicken feed immediately after the August dalliancewith total , because there will be muckle of other solar effect to bet at before the next enceinte solar eclipse in the U.S.in 2024 . As always , we must prompt you not to stare directly into the Sun , or at best , you ’ll credibly see more spots than you bargained for . If you ’re not trusted about the provenance of your eclipse spyglass , ensure to checkthe certificationlisted on the temple .
[ h / tAstro BobandPhil Plait ]
