Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 November 2

A Partial Eclipse of an Active Sun

Video Credit: Ralf Burkart; h/t Maciej Libert (AG)

There are three things to watch in this video. Look for a dark circle to approach from the right to block out the sun. The video was made for the partial solar eclipse last week. There is a large solar prominence hovering over the Sun. It is possible to see that part of it is falling back to the sun. The prominence is made of hot plasma that is temporarily held aloft by the Sun. The Sun's edge is going to change. There is a carpet of hot gas tubes going through the Sun's chromoosphere. Although the Sun is expected to last another 5 billion years, the entire time-lapse video only lasts about ten minutes.

Partial Solar Eclipse in October 2022: Notable Submissions to APOD

Tomorrow's picture: open space

< | Archive | Submissions | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS | Education | About APOD | Discuss | >

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)

NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.

NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices

A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,

NASA Science Activation

There are also Michigan Tech. The United States.