Sun emits smoke ring

ASTANA. March 11. KAZINFORM An amateur astronomer captured an extraordinary image of a smoke ring emitted by the sun. Somewhat alarmingly, it looks like a close-up of a tennis ball blowing a smoke ring. But this incredible image is actually of the sun with a massive detached prominence hovering just above its surface. It shows the aftermath of a large solar flare - or prominence - emitted by an erupting sunspot earlier this month. Kazinform refers to Daily Mail.

The sunspot itself is approximately the size of Earth and can be seen as the round black hole to the right of a group of smaller holes on the solar surface.

What makes the image all the more astounding is that it was taken by an astronomy enthusiast using a small telescope. Alan Friedman, from Buffalo, New York, affectionately calls his telescope 'Little Big Man'. He described it as the smallest 90mm hydrogen alpha telescope on the planet. With a diametre of less than four inches, it is equipped with a filter that only allows a narrow wavelength of light emitted by hydrogen.

This tracks the activity of gas on the sun's surface, which picks up the solar prominence in extraordinary detail.

Mr Friedman also increases the contrast of the image by making it a negative, resulting in a uniquely textured shot of the solar surface.

He took the picture in 30mph winds at the Winter Star Party, an annual event convention of amateur astronomers in West Summerland Key, Florida.

His day job is as a graphic designer, but he spends his nights glued to the telescope and exhibits his most dramatic space photography.

'I try to record images of scientific interest through high resolution astrophotography, but maintaining a respect for the aesthetic beauty and intrigue of the universe around us,' Mr Friedman said.

'I think that paying attention to art and science both has helped me to create images that share both knowledge and inspiration.' Kazinform cites Daily Mail. Find more at www.dailymail.co.uk