http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/solar porn http://io9.com/tag/solar porn

This image is either a closeup look at a dark sunspot moving across the Sun, or a particularly fiery view of the gates of hell. Either way, this is clearly somewhere that's dangerous to even look at, let alone visit. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841591&view=rss&microfeed=true

This is what it looks like when the Earth eclipses the sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this breathtaking image of our planet's shadow partly swallowing up the sun — something that happens twice a year from the satellite's viewpoint. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5788094&view=rss&microfeed=true

A cloud of ionized gas floats over the surface of the sun, in this mind-blowing photo by Alan Friedman. Using a filter that only records a narrow wavelength of light emitted by hydrogen, Friedman captured the sun's texture... and eruption. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5780886&view=rss&microfeed=true

This is a once-in-several-lifetimes photograph. Thierry Legault journeyed from France to Oman to get this picture, showing a solar eclipse — in which the International Space Station is also transiting the sun at the same time. Click to enlarge. [BadAstronomy] More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5724680&view=rss&microfeed=true

Hungarian photographer Tamas Ladanyi photographed the sun's position at 9 AM GMT every ten days in 2010, and the result is this striking infinity symbol in the sky, known as an analemma. [APOD, thanks Roklimber!] More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5722210&view=rss&microfeed=true

Last week, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory showed us the first clips of the Sun's burning storms. This week, it shows us billions of tons of plasma leaping from the Sun's surface and splashing down hours (and unfathomable kilometers) later. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5526052&view=rss&microfeed=true

Earlier this week we saw the release of the first images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft whose entire job is to study solar activity. Now we've got some fiery videos of mega-blasts on the solar surface. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5522442&view=rss&microfeed=true

Every week, we're going to round up the best tips that you post in io9's tips forum. This week, 1960s-style Lost opening credits, undercover aliens, Young Justice, Neill Blomkamp's extraterrestrial theories, and more. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5467218&view=rss&microfeed=true

This image isn't a far-off galaxy or comet — it's space dust right in our backyard. You're seeing the zodiacal light, a triangle of glowing space dust between the Earth and the Sun, briefly visible after sunset. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5451319&view=rss&microfeed=true

Sunspots have returned at last, after a worryingly dormant solar minimum. To celebrate, here are four current solar pictures from NASA's Solar And Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). They're the sun at 304 Angstrom, 171 Angstrom, 195 Angstrom and 204 Angstrom. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5367992&view=rss&microfeed=true

Award-winning space photographer Thierry Legault traveled to Florida to take this picture of the Space Shuttle Atlantis passing in front of the sun. And click through to see Atlantis and Hubble meeting in the sunshine. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5256455&view=rss&microfeed=true

Check out the eruption on the left side of this picture — that's a shockwave plowing through the sun's atmosphere. Could this be the early warning sign of a Solar Katrina? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5243166&view=rss&microfeed=true