It's worth noting from the second link that the picture was originally taken "in a specific red color of light emitted by hydrogen gas called Hydrogen-alpha and then color inverted to appear blue."
It's still a great picture, but does absolutely nothing to explain where the Fruity Oaty Bars come from. posted by explosion at 5:46 AM on November 4 [9 favorites]
That is good! If you want more like this, a Google image search something like "sun h alpha" will get a ton of similar pics. I particularly like this one. I would love to try my hand at that sort of astrophotography, but the filter required is not cheap. It filters out all visible light except that emitted by a specific transition of the hydrogen atom and is widely used in astronomy. posted by TedW at 5:48 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
The sun is shaped like a shag carpet? This could mean a lot for the future of metaphors in poetry. posted by mccarty.tim at 5:49 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
TedW's link looks disconcertingly like a small Mandelbrot set devouring the sun. posted by Wolfdog at 5:51 AM on November 4
I don't care what the eggheads say. The sun is clearly a giant ball of fire. posted by diogenes at 6:11 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
anybody besides me starting to get really freaked out by the continuing lack of sunspots? posted by sexyrobot at 6:22 AM on November 4 [3 favorites]
They Might Be Giants make it very clear that the sun is not made of gas, but is made of plasma. I know from listening to interviews with the band that they researched this thoroughly. Yet, the description of the image (written by a "professional astronomer") says that the sun is "an extremely large ball of bubbling hot gas." Who am I supposed to believe, a novelty rock duo, or an anonymous internet astronomer? I'm going to go with TMBG... posted by diogenes at 6:23 AM on November 4 [3 favorites]
anybody besides me starting to get really freaked out by the continuing lack of sunspots?
I wasn't, but now I'm thinking maybe I should? posted by diogenes at 6:23 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
They Might Be Giants make it very clear that the sun is not made of gas, but is made of plasma.
I like the new, updated and more accurate version, but nothing will ever be as catchy as the first. posted by Taft at 6:28 AM on November 4
Astronomers will often not bother to distinguish between plasma and gas, especially when trying to interest the public who might well not know the difference anyway.
Heck, cosmologists will often bundle the vast majority of matter into the category 'dust', and for an astronomer a metal is any element past helium. As a science it's not the most pedantic. posted by edd at 7:09 AM on November 4
mccarty.tim: "The sun is shaped like a shag carpet? This could mean a lot for the future of metaphors in poetry."
I think Adrian Belew should also get some credit for this, musically speaking.
Extra bonus points to anyone who can find an online song clip that actually contains the words "big blue sun". All the ones I find stop just short. posted by dr. fresh at 7:13 AM on November 4
anybody besides me starting to get really freaked out by the continuing lack of sunspots?
What? You're worried that the sun is, in fact, a gigantic egg containing an infant Dragon God of fire, flame, and hate, you will devour the Earth within seconds of it's horrible, horrible creation?
They Might Be Giants make it very clear that the sun is not made of gas, but is made of plasma. I know from listening to interviews with the band that they researched this thoroughly.
I'm really pissed off there's not a space ship strong enough for me to fly through the photosphere and explore the inner layers of the Sun. posted by Burhanistan at 7:20 AM on November 4
"Except that TMBG didn't write this song - it's a cover."
That one's a cover, but the one referred to by diogenes is not. posted by edd at 8:01 AM on November 4
Here's another Blue sun, taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. posted by dhruva at 8:51 AM on November 4
Has anyone been able to figure out how to get the Astronomy Picture of the Day automatically sent to you? I know I'll forget to go back to the website by tomorrow. posted by digsrus at 9:29 AM on November 4
Wolfdog, I remember thinking a similar thing when I first saw this image... looks like a mandelbrot set on it's side.
How great to get this unusual view of the sun -- one I haven't seen before. Does this mean my new cool perspective on Sol will only happen once in a blue sun? posted by bearwife at 10:31 AM on November 4
That one's a cover, but the one referred to by diogenes is not.
If only I had video proof that I was singing "The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma" years before "Here Comes Science" was released... posted by straight at 10:47 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
I wish that Astronomical Picture of the Day site had some sort of feed. I always forget it exists. posted by bjork24 at 12:44 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]
It may be a magnificent sight, but not because it's blue. Or if that's the case for you, then you'll be delighted with what you can do in Photoshop. posted by Soupisgoodfood at 8:12 PM on November 4
APOD also has a widget for the Mac geeks, although it gets confused when they post a video. posted by WhackyparseThis at 1:31 AM on November 5
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It's still a great picture, but does absolutely nothing to explain where the Fruity Oaty Bars come from.
posted by explosion at 5:46 AM on November 4 [9 favorites]