Meade EclipseView 82mm Instruction Manual - Page 17

Observing the Sun: What makes our Sun so enjoyable to observe is that it's an active star that's always changing. When viewing the Sun through the EclipseView solar filter, the Sun will show up as a yellow-orange disk with possible Sunspots on its surface. Sunspots are temporary dark regions on the Sun where the surface temperature is cooler than the surrounding material. They are places where the Suns everchanging magnetic field prevents the hotter material from below from reaching the surface. Sunspots are continuously changing on a daily basis, sometimes even on an hourly basis and always occur in pairs just like the North & South Pole of a magnet. When viewing Sunspots you will notice they always have different shapes and sizes where no two Sunspots are the same. Our Sun goes through an eleven year cycle where its surface activity increases dramatically. During increased surface activity, many Sunspots can be observed near the solar equator. As the solar activity increases, Sunspots typically will be seen closer to the Suns north and south poles. During periods of low surface activity, the number of Sunspots will reduce drastically and often no Sunspots will be visible at all. As the number of Sunspots are constantly changing, don't get discouraged if you don't see any Sunspots when observing the Sun. Check back again on another day, and look carefully on the solar surface. How many Sunspots do Sunspots Planetary Transit Planet Venus 17 16