MSGID: 1:153/757.0 6e1fc54e   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       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.   
      
                                 2023 February 22   
         The Sun is pictured in a color that allows high detail. The large   
         orange ball has several bright streaks and a carpet-like texture.   
         Several prominences are visible around the edges. Please see the   
                    explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                            Our Increasingly Active Sun   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Mehmet Erg³n   
      
      Explanation: Our Sun is becoming a busy place. Only two years ago, the   
      Sun was emerging from a solar minimum so quiet that months would go by   
      without even a single sunspot. In contrast, already this year and well   
      ahead of schedule, our Sun is unusually active, already nearing solar   
      activity levels seen a decade ago during the last solar maximum. Our   
      increasingly active Sun was captured two weeks ago sporting numerous   
      interesting features. The image was recorded in a single color of light   
      called Hydrogen Alpha, color-inverted, and false colored. Spicules   
      carpet much of the Sun's face. The brightening towards the Sun's edges   
      is caused by increased absorption of relatively cool solar gas and   
      called limb darkening. Just outside the Sun's disk, several   
      scintillating prominences protrude, while prominences on the Sun's face   
      are known as filaments and show as light streaks. Magnetically tangled   
      active regions are both dark and light and contain cool sunspots. As   
      our Sun's magnetic field winds toward solar maximum over the next few   
      years, whether the Sun's high activity will continue to increase is   
      unknown.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          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   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/123 10/0 1 15/0 90/1 92/1 102/401 103/1 17 705 105/81 106/201   
   SEEN-BY: 120/340 123/131 129/305 134/100 153/135 143 757 6809 7715   
   SEEN-BY: 214/22 218/0 1 215 700 810 840 850 860 880 900 221/1 6 226/30   
   SEEN-BY: 227/114 229/110 111 112 113 114 206 307 317 400 424 426 428   
   SEEN-BY: 229/470 664 700 240/1120 266/512 282/1038 301/1 113 812 317/3   
   SEEN-BY: 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58 633/280   
   SEEN-BY: 712/848 4500/1 5020/1042   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 218/700 229/426