Status Report

SOHO Pick of the Week: Magnetic activity and active regions 16 Oct 2001

By SpaceRef Editor
October 16, 2001
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  • Movie (Quicktime, 1.9M)
  • Movie smaller version (Quicktime, 589k)
  • Higher resolution version (TIF, 2.7M)


  • The Sun on Oct. 15 in visible light (left) shows sunspots as dark
    areas on the surface, which are caused by intense magnetic activity.
    A magnetic image taken almost simultaneously (right) more directly
    reveals these clusters of activity with the black and white areas
    indicating north and south magnetic polarity. These active regions
    are often the sources of solar storms.

    Previous Picks of the Week

    SpaceRef staff editor.