This image originates from Big Bear Solar Observatory in the USA
and was obtained by IPS in digital format from Solar Terrestrial
Despatch at the University of Lethbridge in Canada.
The image is a high resolution image of a solar region taken on
September 23, 1993. The darker areas indicate regions of cooler
temperature and generally trace out the complex magnetic fields
which occur in such regions.
It is the complexity of twisted magnetic fields in sunspot regions
which can store huge amounts of energy. It is this energy
which is released abruptly during a solar flare. Solar
flares have important effects here on earth; especially on HF
communications for which they cause fadeouts.
Educational