Sunny Days

On sunny days, you want to take the opportunity to photograph the sun, which is quite active now with nice prominences on the edge of the sun and quite a lot of activity on the solar surface as well. All images from the Carpe Noctem Observatory and taken with a Ha solar filter.

The sun is the undisputed powerhouse of our solar system. Constantly fusing hydrogen into helium in its core, it radiates a staggering \(3.8 \times 10^{26}\) Joules of energy every single second. This output completely dwarfs human energy consumption, providing a nearly limitless engine for life on Earth

Dusk meets the northern lights

Dusk meets the northern lights over the sea on the east coast of Sweden. As darkness falls, the Milky Way emerges, our galaxy consisting of billions of stars. The image shows the area in the Swan with a lot of nebulosity with the bright star Vega next to it. Below the Milky Way, faint colors of the northern lights are visible, which are eaten up a little by the twilight. Among the rocks are bright areas that are marble, a beautiful place with an exciting geological history.

A prominence on the western edge of the sun is escaping into space. A prominence is a huge, arc-shaped cloud of hot gas and plasma held in place by the sun's strong magnetic field. If the magnetic field becomes unstable, the entire structure can rupture and be hurled into space at a speed of several million kilometers per hour. The image was taken on May 22, 2026 from the Carpe Noctem Observatory in Sweden. 

The Sun 24th of may 2026

A clear morning, but a very turbulent atmosphere and poor visibility. But I still took a chance on taking some pictures. It turned out 4 exposures with 200 stacked sequences per image, then stitched together in Photoshop.

Solar activity on May 24, 2026 is at an elevated and very active level, which is expected as we are close to the expected maximum period of solar cycle 25. Main measurements and events. During the last 24 hours, mainly C-class eruptions have been recorded, including two C3 eruptions early in the morning. The total number of observed sunspots remains high, indicating a continued high potential for further eruptions (such as M or X-class) in the next 24 hours. The last geomagnetic storm noted was at level G2 (moderate storm) on May 16, and currently there are relatively calm geomagnetic conditions.

Solar Prominence

In solar physics, a prominence, sometimes referred to as a filament,[a] is a large plasma and magnetic field structure extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the much brighter photosphere, and extend outwards into the solar corona. While the corona consists of extremely hot plasma, prominences contain much cooler plasma, similar in composition to that of the chromosphere. Prominences form over timescales of about a day and may persist in the corona for several weeks or months, looping hundreds of thousands of kilometers into space. Some prominences may give rise to coronal mass ejections. Exact mechanism of prominence generation is an ongoing target of scientific research. A typical prominence extends over many thousands of kilometers; the largest on record was estimated at over 800,000 km (500,000 mi) long, roughly of solar radius. Photos taken back in 2022 using my Ha Solar filter and telescope.

Our star

Our beautiful star keeps our planet alive; without it there would be no life. On this warm sunny day the viewing was very nice, with a calm atmosphere and no major turbulence. The view through the eyepiece was fantastic! There was a lot of activity on the solar surface with active areas around sunspots and larger filaments. On the edge of the sun there were fantastic prominences; they were significantly larger than our own planet.

Half-cloudy in the morning and I took the opportunity to look at the sun between the clouds. Quite turbulent atmosphere and a bit poor vision, but tried to photograph the entire solar disk with 5 images then stitched together in Photoshop. The first thing I noticed were all the filaments on the sun and a couple of nice prominences (now it's the same thing but from different angles).

A filament on the sun is a large, winding cloud of hot gas (plasma) that is held above the sun's surface by strong magnetic fields. Since the gas is slightly cooler than the surrounding sun's surface, they look like dark, thread-like structures when you photograph the sun straight ahead.

If the same phenomenon is seen from the side, at the edge of the sun, it is instead called a prominence and looks like a bright, reddish arc that extends into space.

You can see this at the bottom left of the sun where a filament disappears over the edge and a prominence becomes visible.

Otherwise, an active sun with areas of sunspots and a chance for solar storms.

Inverted version

The Sun 2026-05-14

Active regions on the Sun are temporary areas of intense, complex magnetic fields, often thousands of times stronger than the Sun's average magnetic field. They appear as dark sunspots in the photosphere and are the primary source of solar flares, coronal loops, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

Current Solar Activity (As of May 2026)As of May 14, 2026, multiple numbered active regions have been observed, including AR4436 and AR4438.Recent activity includes a strong M5.79 flare from region 4436 and associated radio blackouts.

Photos taken at Carpe Noctem Observatory.

Active areas at the sun

Active areas on the Sun are regions with extremely strong magnetic fields, up to 1,000 times stronger than the Sun's average magnetic field. It is from these areas that solar storms, solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) most often emanate.

Sunspots: Dark, cooler areas in the photosphere where the magnetic field is extra concentrated. The number of sunspots follows a cycle of about 11 years. Plagues (bright areas): Bright, hot regions in the chromosphere surrounding sunspots. Solar flares: Sudden and intense energy discharges that send out radiation. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs): Huge clouds of plasma and magnetic fields that are thrown out from the Sun.

The picture shows AR4425 & 4428, taken through my telescope today.

AR4425

AR4425 (also known as 14425) is an active sunspot region currently located on the Earth-facing side of the Sun in late April and early May 2026. Here is the latest status of the region: Magnetic classification: It has recently been downgraded to a beta (β) configuration after losing its more complex "delta" structure, meaning its potential for powerful solar storms has decreased somewhat.

In recent days, AR4425 has been one of the more prominent regions, contributing to several C-class flares as well as occasional M-class (moderate) flares, including an M2.2 on April 26.

The region is currently moving across the northwestern quadrant of the Sun's disk. Although it has shown signs of decreasing complexity, it is still closely monitored by space weather services such as NOAA as it moves toward the edge of the Sun.

Photo taken through my back yard telescope 2026-05-01