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                           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 July 11   
         Our Sun is pictured with hundreds of dark sunspots. The image is   
       actually a composite of all of the sunspots visible during the first   
          half of this year. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                             Sunspots on an Active Sun   
           Image Credit: NASA, SDO; Processing & Copyright: +Penol +Panl-#   
      
      Explanation: Why is our Sun so active now? No one is sure. An increase   
      in surface activity was expected because our Sun is approaching solar   
      maximum in 2025. However, last month our Sun sprouted more sunspots   
      than in any month during the entire previous 11-year solar cycle -- and   
      even dating back to 2002. The featured picture is a composite of images   
      taken every day from January to June by NASA's Solar Dynamic   
      Observatory. Showing a high abundance of sunspots, large individual   
      spots can be tracked across the Sun's disk, left to right, over about   
      two weeks. As a solar cycle continues, sunspots typically appear closer   
      to the equator. Sunspots are just one way that our Sun displays surface   
      activity -- another is flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that   
      expel particles out into the Solar System. Since these particles can   
      affect astronauts and electronics, tracking surface disturbances is of   
      more than aesthetic value. Conversely, solar activity can have very   
      high aesthetic value -- in the Earth's atmosphere when they trigger   
      aurora.   
      
                      Tomorrow's picture: star bar with rings   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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