Low Activity Sun
June 26, 2009
Photographer: Geir Øye, Geir's Home Page
Summary Author: Geir Øye; Jim Foster
The photo above shows Old Sol as observed through a sun filter in Ørsta, Norway on November 7, 2006 (2:06 p.m. local time). In mid autumn, the Sun is quite low in the sky above Norway, even just two hours removed from solar noon. The Sun has been notably quiescent of late. Very few sunspots have been detected. The solar minimum of the previous solar cycle (Cycle 24) occurred this past December. There seems to be a consensus among solar physicists that the current solar cycle will be below average in intensity, with the solar maximum (peak sunspot activity) expected to occur in May of 2013. Image of the solar disk is overexposed here in order to include focused earth-bound scenery.
Photo details: Small refractor telescope with sun filter; Canon 350D camera; tripod; Canon RC-5 remote controller ; 1/3 second exposure; 800 ISO.
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