Jakarta –
One astrophotographers captures 286 megapixel images of the Sun over the period sun activity most intense in decades.
Andrew McCarthy, known to his followers under the account name @cosmic-background, took this image of the Sun through a telescope last week. Care is needed to capture it so as not to make his eyes blind due to direct sunlight.
The high-definition image he obtained is a composite mosaic of about 50 photos, each consisting of 600 layered photos. It’s no coincidence that Andrew got this image, but he has been observing it for a long time by pointing his telescope at the Sun for three years.
“At that time, this image shows that this is the time when the Sun is the most active I have ever seen,” he said Daily Mail, Friday (3/6/2022).
The sun appears to be moving into a very active period of its 11-year cycle of activity, which began in 2019 and is expected to peak in 2025.
This activity produces solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME), powerful bursts of energy that can direct a dangerous explosion toward Earth.
“Seeing the full Sun at this level of detail may not be something many people have seen in their lives. During periods of high solar activity, the Sun will look like this all the time. This image is more of a sign that the 11-year cycle is approaching its maximum portion of activity.” said Andrew.
“Seeing 100,000 self-made photos manually is the most tedious part. Throughout most of the process, I didn’t even know I would have a decent image in the end,” he continued.
Andrew chose 30 thousand photos that make up the final image of the 100 thousand photos he got. The image captures dark spots, known as active regions, on the surface Sun and bright sunspots exploding from giant fireballs.
The Sun’s chromosphere, a layer in the Sun’s atmosphere, can be seen as a very thin layer of alpha hydrogen light because the Andrew telescope is precisely tuned with a 5-inch refractor.
The more ‘hairy’ areas of the outer extremity are pockets of plasma trapped in a magnetic field, known as prominences, with lighter areas, known as filaments, scattered throughout the Sun.
From here, sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections erupt, capable of frying the Earth’s surface if they are close enough. This activity was processed in false colors due to the photo filter that Andrew had to use to photograph such a bright subject. The two filters he uses with his telescope in particular are designed to prevent the image from burning out and the photographer going blind.
Despite his actions, Andrew cautions others not to look directly at the Sun unless they have special equipment. “Don’t point the telescope at Sun unless you know what you’re doing,” he said.
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(rns/fay)
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