Nasmyth's sunspot observations. Artwork of observations of sunspots, made on 5 June 1864 by the Scottish amateur astronomer James Nasmyth (1808-1890).
Nasmyth's sunspot observations. Artwork of observations of sunspots, made on 5 June 1864 by the Scottish amateur astronomer James Nasmyth (1808-1890). Sunspots, first observed with telescopes in 1610, are areas of magnetic activity that are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface. They are massive structures, ranging in size from hundreds to thousands of kilometres across. This artwork shows the cooler central areas (dark) and the hotter (lighter) areas round each sunspot. This drawing, here taken from a German publication, was also published in Nasmyth's autobiography of 1885.
Size: 3472px × 5065px
Photo credit: © DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1800s, 1864, 19th, artwork, astronomical, astronomy, british, century, close-, cooler, darker, detail, european, german, heliography, heliology, historical, history, hot, illustration, james, june, language, lighter, magnetic, magnetism, nasmyth, observation, observations, research, scottish, solar, space, sun, sunspot, sunspots, surface, system, temperature, text, victorian
