Evil star? The sun takes on a Halloween-like visage
Digital Reporter
Sunday, October 12, 2014, 12:02 PM - Everyone else dresses up at Halloween. Why not the sun itself?
The star at the heart of our solar system looks downright spooky, with a Jack-o-Lantern visage in the image below, captured by NASA on October 8 and released on Friday.
"The active regions appear brighter because those are areas the emit more light and energy, markers of an intense and complex set of magnetic fields hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona," researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre wrote.
Most images of the sun released by NASA have been processed after being viewed in certain wavelengths of light. In this case, the shot is a blend of light in two wavelengths, of 171 and 193 angstroms.
On their own, each of those wavelengths also look stunning, and NASA released them at the same time as Halloween Jack up there.
Here's the 171 angstrom shot in extreme ultraviolet light:
And here's the same sun at 193 angstrom extreme UV light:
All images courtesy NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Listen to our meteorologist Scott Sutherland in the view at the top as he explains the phenomenon in detail.
WANT MORE? Read Scott Sutherland's insider insights here.
