APOD: AR 3664 at the Sun's Edge (2024 May 15)

[APOD Robot]

AR 3664 at the Sun's Edge

Explanation: What did the monster active region that created the recent auroras look like when at the Sun's edge? There, AR 3664 better showed its 3D structure. Pictured, a large multi-pronged solar prominence was captured extending from chaotic sunspot region AR 3664 out into space, just one example of the particle clouds ejected from this violent solar region. The Earth could easily fit under this long-extended prominence. The featured image was captured two days ago from this constantly changing region. Yesterday, the strongest solar flare in years was expelled (not shown), a blast classified in the upper X-class. Ultraviolet light from that flare quickly hit the Earth's atmosphere and caused shortwave radio blackouts across both North and South America. Although now rotated to be facing slightly away from the Earth, particles from AR 3664 and subsequent coronal mass ejections (CMEs) might still follow curved magnetic field lines across the inner Solar System and create more Earthly auroras.

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[WonderingLaddie]

Amazing photograph!

How was this taken? Was it from a space platform, an observatory, or from a portable ground based telescope?

This latter seems quite improbable; however, I did follow the link to the photographer's website (where could not find this image) and his other images do seem to be made with his own equipment.

[Chris Peterson]

Amazing photograph!

How was this taken? Was it from a space platform, an observatory, or from a portable ground based telescope?

This latter seems quite improbable; however, I did follow the link to the photographer's website (where could not find this image) and his other images do seem to be made with his own equipment.

Images with this resolution are not uncommon from amateur instruments given good seeing conditions.

[WonderingLaddie]

Astonishing !! !!

From my non-astronomer/non-scientist point of view, I must presume (given the clarity of today's APOD) that the almost infinite orders of magnitude greater cost for other platforms must in some manner provide significantly greater information.

I *hope* so.

[Chris Peterson]

Astonishing !! !!

From my non-astronomer/non-scientist point of view, I must presume (given the clarity of today's APOD) that the almost infinite orders of magnitude greater cost for other platforms must in some manner provide significantly greater information.

I *hope* so.

An image like this does not require an expensive telescope. It does require an expensive hydrogen-alpha filter (which can easily run to several thousand dollars). But that is the only really expensive item that is needed. More than anything, what it requires is very good seeing, which means being in one of those rare places on Earth where such seeing is common, or in getting lucky elsewhere, or something in between, using lucky imaging to acquire many frames over a short time and combining the best (or increasingly, the best regions) of each to optimize brief moments of clarity.