The Temporary Helioscope.

As our Sun nears the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity, more sunspots appear on its surface as great magnetic loops breach the surface and carry fantastic amounts of energy out into space. Some of these spots can be as large as the planet Jupiter, and can even be seen with the naked eye - appropriately filtered, of course. In the photograph it's just below the centre, at four o'clock on the solar disc.

This is the case with a large group AR 1520; armed with two sets of sunglasses, a welding filter and a serendipitous passing cloud, I managed to photograph the sunspot with my camera at maximum magnification without the aid of binoculars. This group was also the source of a powerful solar flare which sent a vast cloud of plasma our way two days ago - weather permitting, of course - we might be in for a display of the aurora borealis tonight as it gives our geomagnetic field a bit of a pummelling.