POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT

A bonus day of partly cloudy weather over the Carpe Noctem observatory. I got to watch and photograph the sun through thin clouds but it was still nice. A little curious about the active area around sunspot group 4513 which according to spaceweather.com is a POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT: Sunspot 4513 has developed a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. Unlike Thursday's M8-class flare, which missed Earth, future flares will not miss. We're in the strike zone now, according to spaceweather.com.

Some of the images show this area, you can see as a white tear in the sunspot. 

Great sunspots

Several sunspot groups with active areas. Many eruptions have occurred from these areas in the days, some strong, and have now created auroras as far south as +36 New Mexico. Here in Sweden it is far too bright right now for us to be able to see any auroras. Today's images were taken with CaK filter 394 nm which is in the border area between the photosphere, which is visible in white light, and the sun's chromosphere, which is reserved for narrow-band H-alpha filters. In addition to the structures known from white light, such as sunspots, the network of chromospheric flares distributed over the entire solar surface also becomes visible, which precedes the formation of sunspots, as well as supergranulation cells and Ellerman bombs.

Giant sunspot group

Active Region 4478 (AR 4478) is a giant sunspot group on the surface of the Sun that was discovered as it rotated forward on the eastern solar limb. This region has quickly gained attention as one of the largest sunspot groups in modern history, on par with the historic region AR 3664 from 2024. Characteristics and Size Enormous scale: The region spans an area significantly larger than planet Earth. It is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye if you wear approved solar eclipse glasses. Magnetic complexity: The sunspot group has been classified with the highest possible magnetic complexity (beta-gamma-delta). This means that its magnetic field lines are tightly entangled. Explosive potential: The complex magnetic structure means that AR 4478 carries enough energy to trigger powerful M-class and X-class solar flares.

Wonderful prominence

A beautiful view through the Ha solar filter the other day with a fantastic prominence at the eastern limb. 

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

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.

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.

Latest high res print

Latest high res print avaiable at Carpe Noctem

Showing a partial solar eclipse through a Ha solar filter, beautiful prominences seen at the solar limb.

 

Noctilucent clouds and an active sun

 

Very active Sun so far in 2023

 Photos from 4th of july 2023.