IRIS Movie of the Day
At least once a week a movie of the Sun taken by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is posted by one of the scientists operating the instrument.
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12 Nov 2021
Textbook Sunspot with Light Bridge
Credit: IRIS, LMSAL/NASA, Lucas Guliano (SAO)
Active Region 12893 generated a sunspot that could be the platonic ideal of what a sunspot looks like. This sunspot appeared with a clearly defined umbra and a full and round penumbra circling the spot. An obvious light bridge can also been seen to develop and dissolve throughout these scans. The light bridge spans the length of the umbra and connects to the penumbra at multiple locations. If you need to teach someone the anatomy of the sunspot, this video captures the essence of what a sunspot is!