SUNSPOTTERS
From Observatories: Kanzelhohe Solar Observatory
Live Data
A complete list of real-time data links is located in the Space Weather Resources section.
The easiest and quickest way to get the image for the current day is to go to the Sun-Earth Viewer. There is a link at the top of every page in "Tracking a Solar Storm". When you open the Viewer and click on image #8, you will see the page similar to the one below.
This image is H-Alpha image of the Sun and is updated at least every day if viewing conditions are good. You can use the controls under the large box on the right to zoom and pan. This feature allows you to see sunspots on the Sun in great detail. Some small sunspots may not be visible until you zoom. If you zoom in and pan down to the left, you can see the exact date and time of the image. It is important to check the date and time because the images are not updated if viewing conditions are poor (cloudy) at the Kanzelhohe Solar Observatory.
Image #9 on the Sun-Earth Viewer is also from Kanzelhohe Solar Observatory. This image is taken with a Hydrogen-alpha filter. This filters out all light except a specific wavelength of red light. The Hydrogen-alpha images allow you to see prominences, filaments and plage. For more information on these interesting structures visit Chromospheric Features. The size and position of sunspots and the presence of prominences and plage tell you about solar activity that might produce flares and coronal mass ejections.
- NASA Official: Dr. James Thieman
- Project Manager: Don Robinson-Boonstra
- Website Manager: Bryan Stephenson