Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2005 November 26
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

A Stereo Sun
Credit & Copyright: Greg Piepol

Explanation: A stereo view of the closest star, this creatively composited image was constructed from an extensive archive of pictures taken between March 2004 and April 2005. When viewed with red/blue glasses, the Sun's disk and surface features, including sunspots, filaments, and prominences, stand out in an exaggerated stereo perspective. The images were recorded through a narrow band hydrogen-alpha filter, designed to transmit only light from hydrogen atoms in the solar atmosphere. After combining the solar hydrogen-alpha images, a 3D star field was added to the final anaglyphic stereo view.

Tomorrow's picture: light echoes


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