Culgoora Solar Observatory. Astronomer at work measuring sunspots inside the Culgoora Solar Observatory near Narrabri in New South Wales, Australia. A

---

Culgoora Solar Observatory. Astronomer at work measuring sunspots inside the Culgoora Solar Observatory near Narrabri in New South Wales, Australia. An image of the Sun as a disc of light has been projected through lenses from a heliostat mirror outside. This enables the mapping of sunspots as they evolve. Sunspots correspond to areas of cool dark gas in the Sun's photosphere, the gaseous layer which forms the visible surface of the Sun. These cool regions result from intense localised magnetic fields, which suppress the convection currents that bring hot gases to the Sun surface. Culgoora Solar Observatory has a 30cm heliostat mirror.

---

Size: 3577px × 5008px
Photo credit: © DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, composite, corona, cosmology, diamond, eclipse, lunar, maria, moon, ring, science, seas, solar, sun, total