At the Sun's Edge
Credit & Copyright: Catalin Beldea (Descopera Magazine)
Posted on 08/07/2008 3:35:23 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: A train trip on the Trans-Siberian railway to Novosibirsk resulted in this stunning view along the edge of the Sun recorded during the August 1st total solar eclipse. The picture is a composite of two images taken at special moments in the eclipse sequence, corresponding to the very beginning and the very end of the total eclipse phase. Those times are known to eclipse chasers as 2nd and 3rd contact. Bright beads around the Moon's dark silhouette are rays of sunlight shining through lunar valleys at the edge of the lunar disk. But the composite view also captures solar prominences, looping structures of hot plasma suspended in magnetic fields, extending beyond the Sun's edge.
Fantastic!
One amazing point is that the height of that prominence at the top right is about 8-9 Earth diameters high off the surface of the Sun. Makes you realise just how very small we are. Thanks for the shot; impressive.
I have a new desk-top background, thank you, thank you.
One amazing point is that the height of that prominence at the top right is about 8-9 Earth diameters high off the surface of the Sun.
Not quite that many. At about 860,000 miles across, you can place approximately 109-110 planet Earths across the Sun's diameter. So I would make a rough guess and say that prominence is 'only' about 3-4 Earths high (~24 to 32 thousand miles high).
And if 860,000 miles sounds big, check out the sizes of some of these other common stars in the sky...
...
And that is: ,,,
You can now see Jupiter easily by eye after sunset. It's currently rising (breaking the eastern horizon) at around 6:15pm, or about 2 hours after sunset. In fact, it is so bright at this time that you might think it's the headlight of an approaching airplane. It looks similar to a white star, only much brighter. Distance from Earth at this time: almost exactly 400 million miles. And if you have a modest pair of binoculars (8x or greater), and can hold them steady enough, you may be able to see a few of Jupiter's 4 largest moons. They will appear, more or less, strung out in a straight line. This is because they orbit the planet in a flat plane (much like the planets orbit the Sun) and we are looking at it all from the side.
Note: although it's 'rising' at around 6:15pm, depending on your viewing location -obstructions etc, it likely won't be high enough for you to see it for another hour or so after that.
A good website for rising and setting times for the planets, also for viewable International Space Station (ISS) passes, and there are currently some bright ones over parts of the United States, is Heavens-Above.com:
http://heavens-above.com/
Finally, Venus is just now beginning to emerge again as an 'evening star', although you probably won't be able to see it easily (without binoculars) for another 2 or 3 weeks (rough estimate), when it moves more eastward of the Sun. At that time, look west after sunset for a spectacular white light. It will eventually become even brighter than Jupiter is at the moment.
[indent][b]I agree with you 100%. But you left out something very important.
And that is: ,,,
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Actually, I find ‘...’ SO much easier to proof before posting. I tried BTTT but occasionally mispelled it and felt SO embarassed ...
Regards,
21stCenturion
LOL!
Do you have the chart comparing the relative sizes of Betelgeuse and Antares to Obama’s ego?
Are you kidding me? Obama's ego is so "inflated", it's off the charts!!
INFLATE HERE, INFLATE NOW!
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