Super hi-res sunspot

[pokerfan]

On August 1, astrophotographer Bart Declercq went outside to get some shots of our nearest star. He used a 30 centimeter (12&quot telescope, two filters, and a pretty nice camera, he took several thousand frames of video of the Sun. Using a technique that allows combining the frames to get the highest resolution image – and then using a further technique called deconvolution to sharpen it a bit more – he was able to create this tremendous picture of a sunspot:



http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/08/04/super-hi-res-sunspot/

[NutmegYankee]

1. That's cool!

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. my dermatologist would advocate having that removed....

actually, I am astronomy buff - great picture, I can only imagine the various chemical and other processes going on in that spot!

[Stargazer09]

4. My thought, too

Has many of the warning signs for skin cancer.

I agree that it's a great picture. Makes me wish I could afford a nice telescope of my own. I love looking at the sun!

[alfredo]

8. For casual viewing, a Dobsonian Telescope gives you more bang for the buck.

Here's one just like mine, though mine was a 10.1" telescope and opposed to the 13.1" displayed. He has a camera attached. An 8" reflector will cost under $400.



I had to give up mine after my injury.

[geckosfeet]

3. A huge spot - as big as the earth

Supe hi-res Sunspot

The scale of all this is hard to grasp. A quick measurement on the image indicates that the spot is about 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) across… in other words, just the spot’s umbra (the dark area) alone is roughly the same size as the Earth!

It’s easy to forget just how mighty the Sun is, but pictures like this really slam it home. The Sun is a star, 1.4 million kilometers across, 330,000 times as massive as the Earth, and a complex, amazing, and wondrous place.

The granules are continent sized points of convection on the surface..

[Stargazer09]

5. Great picture!

Our sun is a fascinating place.

[longship]

6. Gotta be Phil Plait!

He has been posting many incredible Astro Eye Candy in his Blog, which is a daily must see for me.

BTW, his book, Death From the Skies is really, REALLY a fun and very informative read. ( if you know about Phil, you'll get the joke.)

[On the Road]

7. Excuse Me for Noticing This,

but that hole looks like Australia.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. Can you imagine the turbulence

causing all the waves around that spot???? Incredible picture.