Dr. Jeff Kretsch used the Coronograph Telescope at Observatory Park Turner Farm to catch the sun "heating up" with solar prominences as part of growing activity during solar cycle 25.  The simple, but specially designed telescope, has provided wonderful sun views to many visitors at Observatory Park.  As we progress into the 11 year solar cycle, sunspots, flares, and prominences will become more common for the next 12-18 months as solar cycle 25 reaches its maximum. 

We've taken the solar montage that Dr. Kretsch photograph and added an image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's (SDO) daily record of the sun for January 5th, 2024.  While the Corongraph Telescope sees the sun in the light of Hydrogen Alpha (a deep red emission of the sun at 6564.6 Angstrom when an electron falls from hydrogen's third to second excited atomic orbital state), the SDO image is taken in the light of ionized Helium (He-II) at 304 Angstrom.

NOAA Solar Cycle Chart - From https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression