Solar surface

Surface of the Sun imaged with a Hydrogen-alpha filter, showing small group of sunspots. Sunspots are areas of magnetic activity that are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface. They range in size from hundreds to thousands of kilometres across. Three active regions AR2790, AR2786 and AR2785 are seen here as white dots. Plages (dark brown), bright patches surrounding the sunspots, are visible. The granular appearance of the solar surface is also captured in this image. These granules appear in the photosphere layer, the layer that radiates visible light. Solar prominences are seen around the surface. These are jets of plasma being ejected from the Sun's surface by turbulence in its magnetic field. This image was obtained using a H-alpha telescope on 3 December 2020., Photo by MIGUEL CLARO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY