Sun 28 July 2026

The Sun is the central star of our solar system and, at a distance of around 150 million kilometres, our nearest star. An H-alpha solar telescope reveals the chromosphere – that active, outer layer of the Sun which remains hidden in normal light. This image shows the fine, fibrous texture of the chromosphere, criss-crossed by dark filaments that stretch across the solar disc in long arcs. In the active regions, dense structures of rising plasma cluster together, whilst at the Sun’s edge several prominences extend far out into space – immense arcs of gas shaped by our star’s magnetic fields.