The Sun's Invisible Outer Layers (He I at 1083.0 nm)

The Sun Now July 18, 2008 17:42	Compare to Active Sun
Image Credit: Courtesy of the National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak, NOAO.
About the images: Emissions from the Helium atom at 10830 angstroms originate entirely within the Sun's chromosphere . The Vacuum Telescope facility at National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak monitors the sun at this wavelength every day.
What layer does the light come from?
What to look for: Dark areas are sunspot groups and prominences, bright regions are coronal holes. It usually takes a series of images over several days to identify a coronal hole. Very useful for imaging flares and prominences. With north oriented upward, features move across the solar disk from left to right as the Sun rotates. The Sun does not rotate as a solid body but features at the equator move across faster than those at the poles.

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