Over a three-week period (July 3-24, 2018), the Sun produced just one small, short-lived sunspot -- but it tells a big story. Up until July 22, the Sun had no sunspots for 23 consecutive days, the first time that has happened in nine years. The Sun is rapidly approaching solar minimum, a period of very low solar activity in its 11-year cycle -- and doing so more rapidly than many scientists predicted. Movies are available at

Over a three-week period (July 3-24, 2018), the Sun produced just one small, short-lived sunspot -- but it tells a big story. Up until July 22, the Sun had no sunspots for 23 consecutive days, the first time that has happened in nine years. The Sun is rapidly approaching solar minimum, a period of very low solar activity in its 11-year cycle -- and doing so more rapidly than many scientists predicted. Movies are available at
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of Over a three-week period (July 3-24, 2018), the Sun produced just one small, short-lived sunspot -- but it tells a big story. Up until July 22, the Sun had no sunspots for 23 consecutive days, the first time that has happened in nine years. The Sun is rapidly approaching solar minimum, a period of very low solar activity in its 11-year cycle -- and doing so more rapidly than many scientists predicted. Movies are available at by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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A view of a fairly normal Sun, with solar prominences on the edge, seen in the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 304 Angstrom instrument.
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One of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft (Behind) observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength an elongated loop that emerged and then dispersed over a two-day period. This immense structure is generated by magnetic forces rooted inside the Sun. At its greatest extension it reached about 250,000 miles (400,000 Km) across, roughly the distance from Earth to the moon.
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A beautiful prominence eruption shot off the east limb (left side) of the sun on Monday, April 16, 2012. Such eruptions are often associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare did occur at the same time, though it was not aimed toward Earth. This event, which is still in progress, was seen by NASAs SDO satellite.
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A bright, flashing eruption on the edge of the Sun was caught in extreme ultraviolet light by the EIT 304 angstrom instrument on SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory). A spectral line of singly-ionized helium at 304 angstroms shows the state of the solar plasma at roughly 60,000 C. This 'small' event was still several times larger than the Earth.
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A close-up of twisting plasma above the Sun's surface produced a nice display of turbulence by caused combative magnetic forces (June 7-8, 2016) over a day and a half as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
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The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11 24 p.m. EST on Jan. 12, 2015. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an M5.6-class flare. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. The number provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc.
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Active region AR 12192 on the sun erupted with a strong flare on Oct. 24, 2014, as seen in the bright light of this image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This image shows extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the hot solar material in the sun's atmosphere.
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The dark coronal hole in the Sun's lower region is a 'open' magnetic area through which the solar wind follows, seen in this view from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 284 Angstrom instrument.
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On March 29, 2014 the sun released an X-class flare. It was observed by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS; NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO; NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, or RHESSI; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode; and the National Solar Observatory's Dunn Solar Telescope located at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico. To have a record of such an intense flare from so many observatories is unprecedented. Such research can help scientists better understand what catalyst sets off these large explosions on the sun. Perhaps we may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flares can cause near Earth - blackouts that can interfere with airplane, ship and military communications. Read more a href= http //1.usa.gov/1kMDQbO rel= nofollow 1.usa.gov/1kMDQbO /a Join our Google+ Hangout on May 8 at 2 30pm EST a href= http //go.nasa.gov/1mwbBEZ rel= nofollow go.nasa.gov/1mwbBEZ /a
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The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft Behind observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength a great deal of solar plasma sliding along the edge of the Sun over a two-day period. These immense structures are generated by magnetic forces rooted inside the Sun.
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An active region at the edge of the Sun blew out an X4 flare (one of the largest of the solar cycle) and a coronal mass ejection on Feb. 25, 2014. The still image of the ejected plasma (taken at 00 45 UT) shows it curled like a shrimp, but this eruption was no shrimp it was powerful. The images seen here are a combination of two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light (171 and 304 Angstroms). The video clip covers about three hours of activity.
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Image taken by SDOs AIA instrument at 171 Angstrom shows the current conditions of the quiet corona and upper transition region of the Sun. SDO is the first mission in a NASA science program called Living With a Star, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society.
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Calm Chromosphere
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An erupting prominence observed by SDO on March 30, 2010.
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January 23, 2012 - An intensity M8.7 solar flare on the Sun's surface. A stream of solar material is seen flowing off into space above the hot spot, likely solar protons and a coronal mass ejection.
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NASA image captured April 1, 2011 Twice a year, SDO enters an eclipse season where the spacecraft slips behind Earth for up to 72 minutes a day. Unlike the crisp shadow one sees on the sun during a lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow has a variegated edge due to its atmosphere, which blocks the sun light to different degrees depending on its density. Also, light from brighter spots on the sun may make it through, which is why some solar features extend low into Earth's shadow.
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sun with International Space Station An illustration of our sun with International Space Station Copyright: xZoonar.com/magannx 15917342
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The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)'s Ahead spacecraft imaged an enormous wave (left of center) rippling across the Sun, seen in extreme ultraviolet at 195 Angstroms
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A prominence at the edge of the sun provided us with a splendid view of solar plasma as it churned and streamed over less than one day (June 25-26, 2017). The charged particles of plasma were being manipulated by strong magnetic forces. When viewed in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, we can trace the movements of the particles. Such occurrences are fairly common but much easier to see when they are near the sun's edge. For a sense of scale, the arch of prominence in the still image has risen up several times the size of Earth. Movies are available at
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This illustration lays a depiction of the sun's magnetic fields over an image captured by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016. The complex overlay of lines can teach scientists about the ways the sun's magnetism changes in response to the constant movement on and inside the sun. Note how the magnetic fields are densest near the bright spots visible on the sun - which are magnetically strong active regions - and many of the field lines link one active region to another. This magnetic map was created using the PFSS - Potential Field Source Surface - model, a model of the magnetic field in the suns atmosphere based on magnetic measurements of the solar surface. The underlying image was taken in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of 171 angstroms. This type of light is invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold.
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Sun star surface with solar flares, burning of sun animation 3D rendering
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