June 9, 2010
Even the most precise clock in the world cannot measure how unlikely your existence really is.
Orange Sun Simmering
Birthday · June 9, 2010
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 9, 2010. Credit: Alan Friedman (Averted Imagination). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
ven a quiet Sun can be a busy place. And over the deep Solar Minimum of the past few years, our Sun has been unusually quiet. The above image, taken last week in a single color of light called Hydrogen Alpha and then false colored, records a great amount of detail of the simmering surface of our parent star. The gradual brightening towards the Sun's edge in this color-inverted image, called limb darkening, is caused by increased absorption of relatively cool solar gas. Just over the Sun's edges, several prominences are visible, while two prominences on the Sun's face are seen as light streaks just above and right of the image center. Two particularly active areas of the Sun are marked by dark plages. In contrast to recent quiet times, our Sun is moving toward Solar Maximum, and for years will likely appear much more active.
Image credit: Alan Friedman (Averted Imagination)