Giant spot crosses Sun's disk

There is a very interesting bit of activity going on on the Sun at the moment. As it rotates a giant sunspot is turning to face us. Spot number 930 is being enough to be seen with the naked eye providing a suitable solar filter is used such as undamaged eclipse glasses or welders' goggles to see it. If you do not have you have an approved filter, you can view it by projecting the Sun's light through a telescope or binoculars onto a piece of card. (Warning: If you have one of today's cheaper telescopes with plastic eyepieces, the Sun's heat can melt the plastic.) I took the accompanying photo using my Canon EOS 300D at prime focus of the ETX90 from my kitchen in Putney, south-west London The spot was earlier a very explosive affair as shown here in the SPA gallery in an image by Dave Tyler. Another impressive sequence, from a H-alpha telescope in New Mexico by the National Solar Observatory, revealed a tidal wave spreading from the spot across the Sun. Since then, the spot has calmed down and become very stable, reducing the likelihood of further flares, according to Spaceweather.com. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, SpaceStories.com

Planets come close in dawn sky

Three bright planets came together today for one of the closest conjunctions in decades. Mercury, Mars and Jupiter were so close in the dawn sky that a thumb could cover them. They could all be found within an area of sky a degree across - only twice the width of the Moon. Mercury and Jupiter were especially close, though really separated by a vast distance in space. Both appeared bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in the pre-dawn sky. Mars is fainter and a lot more difficult to see. The grouping will continue to be compact over the next few days as described on the Sky and Telescope website. Some photos of the event appear on the SPA website. Experts say there will not be another gathering of three bright planets as close until at least 2030. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, SpaceStories.com