Hot Spot

STEREO (Behind) spacecraft kept a close watch on this active region as the magnetic loops above it twisted and gyrated above it (November 12-16, 2008). The ionized iron imaged in this wavelength (284 Angstroms) of extreme UV light is heated to over 2 million degrees so this is indeed a really "hot spot." While no significant solar storms erupted from it during these 4 days, we did get the opportunity to study the changes in the structure of the magnetic field lines above it. In simply filtered light, this area would appear as a darker, cooler region that we call sunspots.

• 284spot.mov - (4.18 mb)   
• 284spot_best.mov - (15.6 mb)   
• 284spot.mpg - (8.19 mb)   
• Print version. Right click for download.