Sunset and Sunspot - 3 (2014 Jan 06)
In the first days of 2014, an enormous sunspot appeared along the eastern edge of the Sun. Formally known as Active Region 1944 (or AR1944), this feature is actually composed over 60 individual sunspots. The largest of them is several times bigger than planet Earth.
AR1944 is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye provided you use a solar filter to attenuate the Sun's intense light. I've spotted AR1944 with nothing more that a pair of eclipse glasses left over from a past eclipse trip. On Jan. 06, I photographed the Sun setting behind some of the rugged peaks of the Chiricahua Mountains near my home in Portal, AZ. I found it fascinating to watch the Sun and AR1944 pass behind the distant spires before disappearing from view. See more images from this sequence below.
For additional information on AR1944, visit Enormous Sunspot in 2014.Technical Details
- Object: Sunset and Sunspot - 3 (2014 Jan 06)
- Date/Time: 2014 Jan 06 at 23:47 UTC
- Location: Portal, AZ
- Tripod: Davis and Sanford
- Telescope: Vixen 80mm Fluorite Refractor
- Camera: Nikon D7000
- Exposure: 1/2000s, f/8, ISO 200
- File Name: Seq14sunset-C182w.jpg
- Processing (Photoshop CS5): Clarity, Unsharp Mask
- Rights: Copyright 2014 by Fred Espenak. All Rights Reserved. See: Image Licensing.
