Astronomy Picture Of The Day Explore the cosmos Every day, a new image or photograph of the fascinating universe is presented along with a short explanation by an astronomer. 2021 July 2AR2835: Islands of the PhotosphereImage Credit and Copyright: Michael Teoh. Heng Ee Observatory. Penang, MalaysiaExplanation: Sunspots, which are small, dark, planet-sized islands in the sun's bright surface, the solar photosphere, are surrounded by incandescent plasma. Sunspots are found in solar active areas. Their temperatures are about 4,000 Kelvins, compared to the 6,000 Kelvins of the surrounding solar surface. These sunspots are located in the active region AR2835. AR2835, the largest active region currently crossing the Sun's surface, is captured in this sharp telescopic closeup starting July 1. It spans approximately 150,000 km or more than ten Earth diameters. Solar active regions with strong magnetic fields are often responsible for solar flares or coronal mass ejections. These storms can affect space weather close to Earth.
