SOL

DISCLAIMER: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH A REGULAR TELESCOPE - EVER! Blindess will befall on you in less than a second. Always use a solar telescope designed for solar viewing. Internal blocking filters in such telescopes reject all unwanted and harmful radiation, for completely safe viewing.

The Sun through a solar telescope.
Note the prominence loop.

This evening during study group we went outside to safely view the Sun. We used a Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope with an H-Alpha filter that allowed us to see amazing prominences and surface features of the Sun. In addition, we used the 4.25 inch AstroScan with a screen to view the reflection of the Sun. The sunspots were evident and it was a great experience for those that have never seen the Sun through a solar telescope before.

A prominence is a loop of plasma that extends out of the Sun and back. It is often very large in size, and you could probably fit dozens of Earths within it. We were lucky to not only witness a prominence in our Sun today, but to actually watch it change. Initially, the prominence had a complete loop which later on broke, and minutes after that faded away entirely. Prominences are actually plasma ejections from the Sun that get trapped within the magnetic field lines (which is why it loops around and spirals back towards the surface of the Sun). 

Astronomy students safely viewing the Sun through a solar scope and a screen.

The reflection of the Sun on a screen.
Note the sunspots.

We also witnessed a few sunspots both in the solarscope and the reflection from the Astroscan. Sunspots are regions that are relatively "cooler" in temperature than the rest of the surface of the Sun. Prominences are actually associated with sunspots except we don't see the prominences in this case because the surface is facing us directly. Both these phenomenon are driven by magnetic field activity from the Sun, and both are associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections, two primary events responsible for auroras. As a matter of fact, there was a solar flare earlier today that will reach the Earth later tonight and will cause auroral activity for regions in Northern latitudes and possibly low on the horizon in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Astronomers usually use an index to determine the strength of an auroral activity called the Kp. For us in Michigan, a Kp of 7 means northern lights will be visible at our latitude.

Astronomy students and Marc viewing the Sun through a solarscope.

Angela looking at the reflection of the Sun from the Astroscan.
The color is green because we were using an O-III filter with a polarizer.

Our Sun is a very dynamic star, and to be able to witness all the activities that occur on its surface is quite the experience. That ball of gas is the reason we exist on this planet. Without it, we would be one lonely and cold planet that has nothing but ice covering its surface. We are in mid October and yet all of us who shared this experience today felt the warmth of this star and embraced it. There are many mechanisms responsible for Earth being the way it is (sustaining life and what not), and without SOL, none of those mechanisms would even matter.