What We See When We Study the Sun?
Bright, hot, and 93 million miles away, explore the brilliant features on the Sun that can be seen through a safe solar telescope.
Image of the Sun by Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum ObservatorySmithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
This visible spot is aptly called a prominence – a loop of hot gas that flows along the magnetic fields above the Sun’s surface.
A filament is simply a prominence that is seen on the face of the Sun, instead of on the side.
A bright spot on the Sun is called a plage, the French word for beach. These clouds of hot gas in the Sun’s atmosphere often gather above sunspots.
This image was captured with a safe solar telescope. By blocking all colors of light except a specific shade of red called hydrogen-alpha, our telescope reveals the lower atmosphere of the Sun.
Prominences Around the SunSmithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
We have our telescope trained on the Sun almost daily.
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