Venus transit: full resolution details seen in extreme ultraviolet light

The 11 images on this page are cutouts from originals at full resolution (4096 × 4096 pixel), produced by the AIA instrument of the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory during the transit of Venus on June 5-6. They are arranged as a series of snapshots showing interesting details of the event. In the extreme ultraviolet light at 335 Å captured in these images, the dark disk of Venus appears together with recognizable features of the Sun such as coronal loops, prominences and a large coronal hole.

2012-06-05 22:00:05 UT. This and the following images are courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams

A symphony of solar prominences

This spectacular dance of solar prominences was captured by Alan Friedman on August 2011. The author creatively compared the two principal structures emanating from the surface of the sun to two separate movements of a symphony. 'Delicato' is the prominence on the lower left – a delicate web in which all seems connected, yet remains distinct. 'Fortissimo' is the arc on the upper right – a confused shuffling of ionized gas, driven by powerful magnetic fields.

© Alan Friedman/ avertedimagination.com

A striking image of the Sun's chromosphere

This majestic view of the Sun was taken on the fifth of May by Alan Friedman, an astrophotographer specialized in capturing astonishing images of our home star from his backyard in Buffalo, NY, with a 90mm hydrogen alpha telescope (a clear demonstration that not always bigger is better). The image is inverted: the brighter regions appear darker, and vice versa. 

© Alan Friedman/ avertedimagination.com