October 15, 2012
The same forces that sculpt nebulae and spin galaxies into existence were at work the day you were born.
Black Sun and Inverted Starfield
Birthday · October 15, 2012
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published October 15, 2012. Credit: Jim Lafferty. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Does this strange dark ball look somehow familiar? If so, that might be because it is our Sun. In the above image, a detailed solar view was captured originally in a very specific color of red light, then rendered in black and white, and then color inverted. Once complete, the resulting image was added to a starfield, then also color inverted. Visible in the above image of the Sun are long light filaments, dark active regions, prominences peeking around the edge, and a moving carpet of hot gas. The surface of our Sun has become a particularly busy place over the past two years because it is now nearing Solar Maximum, the time when its surface magnetic field is wound up the most. Besides an active Sun being so picturesque, the plasma expelled can also become picturesque when it impacts the Earth's magnetosphere and creates auroras.
Image credit: Jim Lafferty