NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 22 February 2023: Sun trouble for Earth

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the day is a snapshot of the solar activity rising on the surface of the Sun.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Feb 22 2023, 11:27 IST
Top astronomy photos of the week by NASA: Galaxy wars, Nebula, Moon to Sun, check them out
Sun
1/7 On January 14, NASA released an image of Perihelion Sun 2023, the image was taken after January 4, at the Earth's closest approach to the Sun. It was taken less than 24 hours after the earth's close approach. (Peter Ward (Barden Ridge Observatory))
image caption
2/7 On January 15, another photograph was released of The Crab Nebula snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD, is filled with mysterious filaments. ( NASA, ESA, Hubble, J. Hester, A. Loll (ASU))
image caption
3/7 On January 16, NASA released an image of Moon Enhanced. The featured image is a composite of multiple images enhanced to bring up real surface features. The dark areas in the image, called maria, have fewer craters and were once seas of molten lava. Additionally, the image colours, although based on the moon's real composition, are changed, and exaggerated. (Darya Kawa Mirza)
image caption
4/7 On January 17, the image of unexpected clouds toward the Andromeda Galaxy was released. (Yann Sainty & Marcel Drechsler)
image caption
5/7 Image of MACS0647: Gravitational Lensing of the Early Universe Captured by James Webb Space Telescope was released by NASA on January 18. ( NASA, ESA, CSA, Dan Coe (STScI), Rebecca Larson (UT), Yu-Yang Hsiao (JHU); Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Text: Michael Rutkowski (Minn. St. U. Mankato))
image caption
6/7 On January 19, the image of The Seagull Nebula was released. The complex of gas and dust clouds with other stars of the Canis Majoris OB1 association spans over 200 light-years. (Carlos Taylor)
image caption
7/7 Galaxy Wars: M81 and M82, this image was released on January 20. On the right, with grand spiral arms and bright yellow core is spiral galaxy M81.  (Andreas Aufschnaiter)
Sun
icon View all Images
Several interesting features can be pictured on the solar surface. (NASA/Mehmet Ergun)

The Sun's Solar cycle 25 commenced in 2019, and it is anticipated to reach its zenith in July 2025. This is the primary cause of the Sun's recent outbursts. Flares, prominences, sunspots, coronal mass ejections are the common harbingers of solar activity, as are plages and other related phenomena seen at other wavelengths. Unfortunately, the Earth is in for a challenging period. A G5-class solar storm, which is the horrendously powerful, striking the Earth can lead to the damage to satellites, interference in wireless communications like internet, mobile phone network and GPS, as well as power grid failures. Terrifyingly, it can even disrupt electronics such as pacemakers.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of the rising activity on the surface of the Sun. This image was captured two weeks ago in a single colour of light known as Hydrogen Alpha and several interesting features can be pictured on the solar surface. Solar prominences can be observed being hurled out from the surface while the Sun's edges are brighter due to increased absorption of relatively cool solar gas.

The picture was captured by astrophotographer Mehmet Ergun.

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.

NASA's description of the picture

Our Sun is becoming a busy place. Only two years ago, the Sun was emerging from a solar minimum so quiet that weeks would go by without even a single sunspot. In contrast, already this year and well ahead of schedule, our Sun is unusually active, already nearing solar activity levels seen a decade ago during the last solar maximum. Our increasingly active Sun was captured two weeks ago sporting numerous interesting features.

The image was recorded in a single color of light called Hydrogen Alpha, color-inverted, and false colored. Spicules carpet much of the Sun's face. The brightening towards the Sun's edges is caused by increased absorption of relatively cool solar gas and called limb darkening. Just outside the Sun's disk, several scintillating prominences protrude, while prominences on the Sun's face are known as filaments and show as light streaks. Magnetically tangled active regions are both dark and light and contain cool sunspots. As our Sun's magnetic field winds toward solar maximum over the next few years, whether the Sun's high activity will continue to increase is unknown.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 22 Feb, 11:26 IST
Tags:
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS