Stunning Sun Images Captured by Astrophotographer

Astrophotographer Mark Johnston has captured breathtakingly detailed images of the sun from his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona. As we approach the peak of solar activity, the sun has been quite active, producing massive sunspots, powerful solar flares, and spectacular aurora displays. This turbulent nature of the sun has made it a fascinating subject for astrophotographers like Johnston.

“I enjoy imaging the sun because it’s the only object in astronomy that changes every time you look at it,” Johnston said in an interview with Space.com. He captured these stunning images on July 2, showcasing the sun’s chromosphere with erupting solar prominences and filaments.

The first close-up image reveals a prominent pair of sunspots alongside glowing arcs of plasma known as filaments that have lifted off from the surface. The large dark square of plasma at the bottom right of the center is massive enough to cover 25 Earths. This image highlights the sun’s dynamic nature, with solar prominences and filaments constantly changing.

The second image displays a line of solar prominences marching across the sun’s surface. These prominences are anchored to the sun’s photosphere and extend out towards the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere. The looping material we see is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium.

The third image features a huge prominence arching across the sun. This prominence is also known as a filament when viewed against the solar disk. Johnston points out that millions of tons of plasma have detached from the sun and are floating above the surface.

To capture these images, Johnston used a 160mm hydrogen alpha-modified refractor telescope and a high-speed monochrome camera. He took 2000 10-millisecond frames for each image, then stacked the best 200 frames from each scene to create a single image. Further enhancements and sharpening techniques were applied in post-production.

Johnston is a NASA Solar System Ambassador and Vice President of the Phoenix Astronomical Society. He can be found on social media @azastroguy.

These images demonstrate the sun’s incredible complexity and dynamic nature, making it a thrilling subject for astrophotographers. As we continue to study the sun, we can gain a deeper understanding of its behavior and its impact on our planet.

Historical Context:

The study of the sun has been a significant area of research in astronomy for centuries. Ancient civilizations such as the Greeks and Egyptians recognized the importance of the sun and its role in the solar system. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model, which placed the sun at the center of the solar system. Since then, scientists have continued to study the sun’s behavior, including its solar flares, sunspots, and coronal mass ejections.

In the 20th century, the development of space-based observatories such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have provided scientists with a better understanding of the sun’s internal dynamics and its impact on the solar system. The study of the sun has also led to a greater understanding of the solar wind, which is a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun that can affect the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

In recent years, advances in technology have made it possible for amateur astronomers like Mark Johnston to capture high-quality images of the sun. The use of specialized telescopes and cameras has allowed for the capture of stunning images of the sun’s surface and its dynamic behavior.

Summary in Bullet Points:

• Astrophotographer Mark Johnston has captured stunning images of the sun from his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona. • The images showcase the sun’s chromosphere with erupting solar prominences and filaments. • The first image reveals a prominent pair of sunspots alongside glowing arcs of plasma known as filaments. • The second image displays a line of solar prominences marching across the sun’s surface. • The third image features a huge prominence arching across the sun. • Johnston used a 160mm hydrogen alpha-modified refractor telescope and a high-speed monochrome camera to capture the images. • He took 2000 10-millisecond frames for each image and stacked the best 200 frames to create a single image. • The images demonstrate the sun’s incredible complexity and dynamic nature. • Johnston is a NASA Solar System Ambassador and Vice President of the Phoenix Astronomical Society. • The study of the sun can provide a deeper understanding of its behavior and its impact on our planet.